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soldiers  or  sailors  destined  \o%?o^e?ed"o^ve^s°eis\^  "iJlJ  t^^S,  no^Idres"*!^  ''^  °"'" 


Vol.  XVni  JULY,  1918  No.  1 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


GREAT  EVENTS 


IN 


NORTH  CAROLINA 
fflSTORY 


PUBLISHED  QUARTERLY 

BY 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 
RALEIGH.  N.  C. 


CONTENTS 

Isaac  Shelby 


PAGE 

-      3 


By  Aechibai,d  Hendebson 

Negro  Soldiers 

By  Chief  Justice  Walter  Oi.abk 

North  Carolina's  Dead 


Other  North  Carolina  Heroines 

By  Maet  Hilliaed  Hinton 


57 

63 
64 


Entered  at  the  Postoffice  at  Raleigh    N   C,  July  15.   1905,  under  the  Act  of 
Congress  of  March  3.  1879 

\  P^  9  1    Q  4. 

O'  (C*  J.  tj  ^ 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Great  Events  in  North  Carolina  History 


Volume  XVIII  of  The  Booklet  will  be  issued  quarterly  by  the 
North  Carolina  Society,  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  beginning  July, 
1918.  The  Booklet  will  be  published  in  July,  October,  January,  and 
April.    Price  $1.00  per  year,  35  cents  for  single  copy. 

Editoe  : 

Miss   MAEY   HHiLIAED   HiNTON. 

Biographical  Editor: 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

VOLUME  XVIII. 

Isaac  Shelby,  Part  II — Dr.  Archibald  Henderson. 

Other  North  Carolina  Heroines :  Margaret  McBride,  Mary  Morgan, 
Elizabeth  McCraw,  Elizabeth  Forbes,  Margaret  Caruthers,  Ann  Fer- 
gus, Rachel  Denny — Mary  Hilliard  Hinton. 

The  History  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina — Major  William  A. 
Graham. 

North  Carolina's  Poetesses,  Past  and  Present — Nina  Holland  Cov- 
ington. 

Calvin  Jones:  Physician,  Soldier  and  Freemason — Marshall  De- 
Lancey  Haywood. 

Reminiscences  of  Shocco  and  Jones  Springs — Old-fashioned  North 
Carolina  Summer  Resorts. 

History  of  Orange  County,  Part  II — Frank  Nash. 

Woman's  War  Work: 

(a)  Woman's  Contribution  to  the  Patriot  Cause. 

(b)  Woman's  Service  in  the  War  Between  the  States — Martha 

H.  Haywood. 

History  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina. 

General  William  R.  Davie's  Mission  to  France. 

Brief  Historical  Notes  will  appear  from  time  to  time  in  The 
Booklet,  information  that  is  worthy  of  preservation,  but  which  if  not 
preserved  in  a  permanent  form  will  be  lost. 

Historical  Book  Reviews  will  be  contributed  by  Mrs.  Nina  Holland 
Covington.  These  will  be  reviews  of  the  latest  historical  works 
written  by  North  Carolinians. 

The  Genealogical  Department  will  be  continued  with  a  page  devoted 
to  Genealogical  Queries  and.  Answers  as  an  aid  to  genealogical 
research  in  the  State. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  Colonial  Dames  of  America  will  fur- 
nish copies  of  unpublished  records  for  publication  in  The  Booklet. 

Biographical  Sketches  will  be  continued  und^r  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

Old  Letters,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  different  periods  of  North  Carolina  History,  will  api.'^ar  here- 
after in  The  Booklet. 

This  list  of  subjects  may  be  changed,  as  circumstances  sometimes 
prevent  the  writers  from  keeping  their  engagements. 

The  histories  of  the  separate  counties  will  in  the  future  be  a 
special  feature  of  The  Booklet.  When  necessary,  an  entire  issue 
will  be  devoted  to  a  paper  on  one  county. 

Parties  who  wish  to  renew  their  subscriptions  to  The  Booklet 
for  Vol.  XVIII  are  requested  to  give  notice  at  once. 

Many  numbers  of  Volumes  I  to  XVII  for  sale. 

For  particulars  address 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 

Editor  North  Carolina  Booklet, 
"Midway  Plantation,"  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


o 


Vol.  XVra  JULY,  1918  No.  1 


T5he 

North  Carolina  Booklet 


'Carolina  I  Carolina  I  Heaven's  blessings  attend  her  I 
While  zve  live  zve  will  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her' 


Published  by 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  object  of  The  Booki-et  is  to  aid  in  developing  and  preserving 
North  Carolina  History.  The  proceeds  arising  from  its  publication 
will  be  devoted  to  patriotic  purposes.  Editoe. 


RALEIGH 

COMMEECIAJL  FEINTING  COMPANY 

PEINTEE8  AND  BINDEES 


ADVISORY  BOARD  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


Mes.  Hubebt  Haywood. 
Mes.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 
Mb.  R.  D.  W.  Connor. 
Db.  D.  H.  Hill. 
Db.  William  K.  Boyd. 
Oapt.  S.  a.  Ashe. 
Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fbies. 


Miss  Maktha  Helen  Haywood. 

Db.  Richaed  Dillaed. 

De.  Kemp  P.  Battle. 

Me.  James  Spetjnt. 

Me.  Maeshall  DeLancey  Haywood. 

Chief  Justice  Walter  Olaek. 

Majoe  W.  a.  Geaham. 


Db.  Charles  Lee  Smith. 

editor  : 

Miss  Mary  Hilliaed  Hinton. 

biogbaphical  editoe  : 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

1918-1919 


Mrs.  Marshall  Williams, 
Regent,  Faison. 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt,  Honorary 
Regent,  Richmond,  Va. 

Mrs.  Thomas  K.  Bbunee, 
Honorary  Regent,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 
1st  Vice-Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  2d  Vice- 
Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  P.  Pell,  Recording 
Secretary,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Winifred  Faison,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  Faison. 


Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Historian, 

Faison. 
Mrs.  Charles  Lee  Smith, 

Treasurer,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  Ramsey,  Registrar, 

Raleigh. 
Mrs.  John  E.  Ray,  Custodian  of 

Relics,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  Laurence  Covington, 

Executive  Secretary,  Raleigh. 
Mrs  Charles  Wales, 

Genealogist,  Edenton. 
Miss  Catherine  Albertson, 

Junior  Director,  Elizabeth  City. 


CHAPTER  REGENTS 

Bloomsbury  Chapter Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  Regent. 

Penelope  Barker  Chapter ,  Regent. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Chapter Mrs.  I.  M.  Meekins,  Regent. 

General  Francis  Nash  Chapter Miss  Rebecca  Cameron,  Regent. 

Roanoke  Chapter Mrs.  F.  M.  Allen,  Regent. 

Mary  Slocumb  Chapter Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Regent. 

Colonel  Thomas  Robeson  Chapter Mes.  Annie  Buie,  Regent. 

Tuscarora  Chapter Mes.  C.  H.  Hunter,  Regent. 


Foundee  of  the  North  Carolina  Society  and  Regent  1896-1902 ; 

Mrs.  spier  WHITAKER.* 

Regent   1902: 

Mrs.  D.  H.  HILL,   SR.f 

Regent  1902-1906: 

Mrs.  THOMAS  K.  BRUNER. 

Regent  1906-1910: 

Mrs.  E.  E.  MOFFITT. 

Regent  1910-1917: 

Miss  MARY  HILLIARD  HINTON. 


♦Died  November  25, 1911. 
tDied  December  12. 1904. 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Vol.  XVIII  JULY,  1918  No.  1 

ISAAC  SHELBY 

Revolutionary  Patriot  and  Border  Hero 


Part  11—1780-1783 
By  Aechibald  Henderson 

III 

At  the  appointed  time,  September  25,  the  several  forces 
united  at  the  rendezvous^  already  rendered  famous  by  the 
great  treaty  held  by  Colonel  Eichard  Henderson  with  the 
Cherokees  there  in  March  1775,  the  Sycamore  Shoals  of  the 
Watauga.  Hither  came  Colonel  William  Campbell  with  two 
hundred  men,  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell  with  two  hundred 
men,  Colonel  Isaac  Shelby  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Se- 
vier with  two  hundred  and  forty  men  each — ^uniting  with  the 
force  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men  under  Colonel  Charles 
McDowell  and  Major  Joseph  McDowell,  who  had  been  en- 
camped there  for  some  time.  An  "express"  sent  by  Colonel 
William  Campbell  from  Washington  County,  Virginia,  had 
already  notified  Colonel  Benjamin  Cleveland  of  Wilkes 
County,  ISTorth  Carolina,  of  the  plan ;  and  Cleveland  was  also 
urged  by  an  "express"  from  Colonel  McDowell  to  join  the 
"over-mountain  men"  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains  with 
as  large  a  force  as  he  could  raise. 

The  task  of  raising  funds  to  equip  the  forces  of  Shelby  and 
Sevier,  and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  campaign  was  an 
extremely  difficult  problem.  The  settlers  generally  had  ex- 
pended their  available  money  for  their  lands ;  and  so  the  only 
available  funds  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Entry-taker  of  Sulli- 
van County,  John  Adair.     When  Sevier  applied  to  him  for 


4  THE  NOETH  CAEOLIKA  BOOKLET 

the  money  needed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  military  expe- 
dition, Adair  replied: 

Colonel  Sevier,  I  have  no  authority  by  lav?  to  make  that  disposition 
of  this  money.  It  belongs  to  the  impoverished  treasury  of  North 
Carolina,  and  I  dare  not  appropriate  a  cent  of  it  to  any  purpose. 
But,  if  the  country  is  over-run  by  the  British,  liberty  is  gone.  Let  the 
money  go  too.  Take  it.  If  the  enemy,  by  its  use,  is  driven  from  the 
country,  I  can  trust  that  country  to  justify  and  vindicate  my  conduct. 
Take  it. 

For  this  indispensable  sum,  amounting  to  twelve  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars,  Shelby  and  Sevier 
pledged  themselves  to  see  it  refunded  or  its  use  legalized  by 
an  act  of  the  Legislature;  and  this  recogTiizance  was  after- 
wards scrupulously  fulfilled. -"^ 

It  seemed  to  the  enemy  that  the  over-mountain  men  had 
been  assembled  as  if  by  magic.  "The  wild  and  fierce  inhabi- 
tants of  .  .  .  (the)  settlements  westward  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains/'  said  Mackenzie  in  his  Strictures,  "assembled 
suddenly  and  silently."  In  his  letter  of  October  24,  1780, 
Lord  Kawdon  significantly  observed :  "A  numerous  army  now 
appeared  on  the  frontier^  drawn  from  N^olachucky,  and  other 
settlements  beyond  the  mountains,  whose  very  names  had  been 
unknown  to  us."  On  September  26,  this  force  of  one  thou- 
sand and  forty  frontiersmen  set  forth  upon  the  march.  Be- 
fore leaving  the  camp  at  Watauga,  a  farewell  sermon  was 
delivered  by  the  Reverend  Samuel  Doak,  who  (according  to 
trustworthy  tradition)  urged  them  to  do  battle  valiantly,  clos- 
ing with  a  stirring  invocation  to  "the  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  Gideon" — a  sentiment  gTeeted  with  a  lusty  shout  of 
acclaim  from  the  hardy  mountaineers.  At  Quaker  Meadows 
in  Burke  County^  the  famous  home  of  the  McDowells,  which 
they  reached  on  September  30,  there  was  encamped  a  force 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  militia — the  hardy  followers  of 
that  fierce  and  blood-thirsty  fighter.  Colonel  Benjamin  Cleve- 
land, "Old  Roundabout,"  who  called  themselves  "Cleveland's 
Bulldogs"  ;  the  stalwart  rifiemen  of  Rutherford  under  Colonel 


iRamsey  :  Annals  of  Tennessee,  226. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  5 

Andrew  Hampton,  and  the  flower  of  the  militant  citizenship 
of  Surrj  led  by  a  bom  leader  of  men,  a  cousin  of  Patrick 
Henry,  Colonel  Joseph  Winston.^ 

Already  on  September  14  preceding,  General  William  Lee 
Davidson  had  ordered  Cleveland  to  unite  with  other  forces  to 
resist  Ferguson's  advance;  and  under  the  present  plan  the 
prospects  seemed  to  favor  successful  resistance.  The  com- 
manders of  the  different  divisions,  all  of  whom  had  acted  with 
executive  authority,  controlled  their  troops  only  through  vol- 
untary agreement  on  the  part  of  the  privates.  In  view  of 
petty  disorders  and  insubordination,  the  commanding  officers 
on  the  second  day  (October  2)  after  resuming  the  march,  held 
a  conference  to  devise  plans  for  quieting  the  disturbances, 
and  also  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  leader.  "It  was 
resolved,"  says  Shelby  in  his  Pamphlet  (1823),  "to  send  to 
Head-Quarters  for  a  general  officer  to  command  us ;  and  that, 
in  the  mean  time,  we  should  meet  in  council  every  day  to 
determine  on  the  measures  to  be  pursued,  and  appoint  any  of 
our  own  body  to  put  them  in  execution.  I  was  not  satisfied 
with  this  course,  as  I  thought  it  calculated  to  produce  delay, 
when  expedition  and  dispatch  were  all  important  to  us.  We 
were  then  in  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  of  Gilbert  Town,  where 
we  supposed  Ferguson  to  be.  I  suggested  these  things  to  the 
council,  and  then  observed  to  the  officers,  that  we  were  all 
ITorth  Carolinians  except  Col.  Campbell,  who  was  from  Vir- 
ginia ;  that  I  knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  good  sense,  and  warmly 
attached  to  the  cause  of  his  country ;  that  he  conmianded  the 
largest  regiment;  and  that  if  they  concurred  with  me,  until 
a  general  officer  should  arrive  from  Head-Quarters,  appoint 
him  to  command  us,  and  march  immediately  against  the 
enemy.  To  this  proposition  some  one  or  two  said  'agreed.' 
No  written  minute  or  record  was  made  of  it."^  Shelby 
acknowledges  that  that  he  did  this  to  "silence  the  expectation 

^A.  C.  Avery :  "Quaker  Meadows,"  in  North  Carolina  Booklet,  IV,  No.  3 ; 
W.  A.  Graham  :  General  Joseph  Graham,  273-283  ;  G.  T.  Winston :  "The  Life 
and  Times  of  Major  Joseph  Winston,"  1895  ;  J.  Crouch :  "The  Life  and  Char- 
acter of  Col.  Benjamin  Cleveland,"  1908. 

^Appendix  to  L.  C.  Draper's  King's  Mountain  and  its  Heroes,  564. 


b  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

of  Col.  McDowell"  to  command  the  •expedition.  This  was 
a  legitimate  expectation  on  the  part  of  Col.  McDowell,  who 
was  the  commanding  officer  of  the  district  in  which  the  force 
was  operating,  and  had,  as  Shelby  further  admits,  "com- 
manded the  armies  of  militia  in  that  quarter  all  the  summer 
before  against  the  same  enemy."  The  objections  urged 
against  McDowell  by  Shelby  were  that  he  was  "too  far 
advanced  in  life"  and  "too  inactive"  for  the  command  of  an 
expedition  which  required  extraordinary  resources  in  strength 
and  endurance.  The  first  objection,  mentioned  by  Shelby  at 
the  advanced  age  of  seventy-three,  is  not  founded  on  fact,  and 
was  perhaps  due  to  defective  memory;  for  McDowell  was 
a  vigorous  young  man  of  thirty-seven  in  1Y80.  In  hiis 
narrative,*  Shelby  states  merely  that  McDowell  "was  too 
slow  an  officer"  for  the  enterprise.  There  was  at  no  time  any 
question  of  the  bravery  or  patriotism  of  McDowell.^ 

During  the  progress  of  the  conference,  Campbell  took 
Shelby  aside  and  requested  that  his  name  be  withdrawn  and 
that  Shelby  himself  take  the  command.  To  this,  Shelby  very 
correctly  replied  that  he  was  the  youngest  Colonel  present; 
and  that  McDowell  under  whom  he  had  served,  would  resent 
his  elevation  to  the  chief  command.  Shelby  probably  realized 
that  the  over-mountain  men,  at  all  times  unaccustomed  to 
strict  military  discipline  and  somewhat  prone  to  insubordina- 
tion, would  not  readily  accept  the  leadership  in  this  meteoric 
campaigTi  of  a  militia  commander  conspicuous  neither  for  rare 
discretion  nor  for  exceptional  efficiency.  The  selection  of 
Campbell  was  undoubtedly  a  temporary  expedient,  a  tactful 
mode  of  bridging  an  awkward  situation;  yet  it  is  clear  that 
these  border  leaders  would  never  have  agreed  to  Shelby's  sug- 
gestion that  the  chief  command  be  given,  even  temporarily,  to 
Campbell,  had  they  not  recognized  in  him  an  efficient  leader 
and  known  him  to  be  a  true  soldier.     One  final  conclusion  is 


^American  Review,  December,  1848. 

^Other  graver  objections  to  the  selection  of  McDowell  as  leader  of  the  cam- 
paign have  been  mentioned.  In  this  connection  see  Draper's  King's  Moun- 
tain and  Its  Heroes,  87-9,  and  A.  C.  Avery's  "Burke  County,"  90,  in  Western 
North  Carolina  (1890). 


ISAAC    SHELBY  7 

irresistible:  that  Shelby  himself^  as  originator  and  prime 
mover  in  the  expedition,  more  than  any  other  was  entitled  to 
the  chief  command. 

Colonel  McDowell,  who,  as  Shelby  frankly  says,  "had  the 
good  of  his  country  more  at  heart  than  any  title  of  command," 
cheerfully  acquiesced  in  the  council's  decision;  but  observed 
that  as  he  was  not  to  have  the  chief  command,  he  would  volun- 
teer to  convey  to  headquarters  at  Hillsborough  the  request  for 
a  general  officer.  On  October  4,  McDowell  started  on  his 
errand  from  the  mouth  of  Cane  Creek  near  Gilbert  Town, 
where  the  American  force  was  encamped.®  He  bore  with 
him  a  significant  letter,  to  which  the  chief  historian  of  the 
battle  did  not  have  access.^  He  left  his  men  under  the  com- 
mand of  his  brother,  Major  Joseph  McDowell.  Colonel 
Campbell  now  assumed  temporarily  the  chief  command,  but 
he  was  to  be  regulated  and  directed  by  the  determinations  of 
the  Colonels,  who  were  to  meet  in  council  every  day.  It  is 
noticeable  that  the  list  of  signatures  is  not  headed  by  that  of 
Campbell,  and  does  not  include  that  of  Charles  McDowell, 
the  bearer. 

Rutherford  County,  Camp  near  Gilberttowu 
Oct  4,  1780. 

Sib,  We  have  now  collected  at  this  place  about  1500  good  men, 
drawn  from  the  Counties  of  Surry,  Wilkes,  Burke,  Washington  and 
Sullivan  Counties  in  this  State,  and  Washington  County  in  Virginia, 
and  expect  to  be  joined  in  a  few  days  by  Col.  Clarke  of  Georgia,  and 
Col.  Williams  of  South  Carolina,  with  about  1000  more — As  we  have 
at  this  time  called  out  our  Militia  without  any  orders  from  the 
Executive  of  our  different  States,  and  with  the  view  of  Expelling  the 
Enemy  out  of  this  part  of  the  Country,  we  think  such  a  body  of  men 
worthy  of  your  attention,  and  would  request  you  to  send  a  General 
Officer,  immediately  to  take  the  command  of  such  Troops  as  may 
embody  in  this  quarter — Our  Troops  being  all  Militia,  and  but  little 


"It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  on  his  way  to  Hillsborough,  McDowell  called  at 
the  camp  of  Lacy  and  Hill,  with  their  South  Carolinians,  and  at  that  of  \"vii- 
liams  with  the  Rowan  Corps,  at  Flint  Hill,  a  dozen  miles  or  so  to  the  eastward 
of  the  head  of  Cane  Creek.  These  forces,  being  thus  notified  of  the  march 
against  Ferguson,  formed  a  junction  with  Campbell's  forces  on  October  6. 

''Draper  makes  no  mention  of  this  letter,  the  original  of  which  is  in  the 
Gates  Papers,  Archives  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  For  a  transcript 
of  this  letter  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  Fames,  of  the  New  York  Public 
Library,  and  to  Mr.  Robert  H.  Kelby,  Librarian  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society. 


8  THE  NOETH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

acquainted  with  discipline,  we  could  wish  him  to  be  a  Gentleman  of 
address,  and  able  to  keep  up  a  proper  discipline,  without  disgusting 
the  Soldiery — Every  assistance  in  our  power,  shall  be  given  the  Offi- 
cer you  may  think  proper  to  take  the  command  of  us. 

It  is  the  wish  of  such  of  us  as  are  acquainted  with  General  David- 
son and  Col.  Morgan  (if  in  service)  that  one  of  them  Gentlemen  may 
be  appointed  to  this  command. 

We  are  in  great  want  of  Ammunition,  and  hope  you  will  endeavor 
to  have  us  properly  furnished  with  that  Article. 

Col.  McDowell  vrill  wait  upon  you  with  this,  who  can  inform  you 
of  the  present  situation  of  the  Enemy,  and  such  other  particulars 
respecting  our  Troops  as  you  may  think  necessary. 
We  are  Sir,  Your  most  obdt.  and  very  hble.  Servts. 

Benja.  Cleveland, 
Isaac  Shelby, 
John    Sevtee, 
Andw.  Hampton, 
Wm.   Campbell, 
Jo.  Winston. 
(Endorsed) 
(Public  Service) 

The  Honorable  Major  General 
Horatio  Gates 

Commander  in  Chief  of 

the  Southern  Army. 
By  Col.  Charles  McDowell     Major  General   Smallwood 

Letter  from 

Col.  Cleveland  &c^ 
4th  October  SO. 

A  memorable  incident,  indicative  of  the  indomitable  de- 
termination of  the  American  forces,  deserves  record  here. 
Before  resuming  the  march  on  October  3,  the  Colonels  noti- 
fied the  assembled  troops  of  the  nature  and  hazard  of  the 
enterprise  before  them ;  and  the  oifer  was  made  that  any  one 
who  so  desired,  might  withdraw  then  and  there  from  the  cam- 
paign.    Shelby  thus  laconically  addressed  the  men : 

You  have  all  been  informed  of  the  offer.  You  who  desire  to 
decline  it,  will,  when  the  word  is  given,  march  three  steps  to  the  rear, 
and  stand,  prior  to  which  a  few  more  minutes  will  be  granted  you 
for  consideration. 


^Cf.  N.  C.  State  Records,  xiv,  663-4.  A  photographic  facsimile  of  the  signa- 
tures to  this  letter,  made  at  my  order  from  the  original  letter,  shows  that, 
contrary  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  who  spells  it  "Cleavland,"  the 
correct  spelling  is  "Cleveland." 


ISAAC    SHELBY  9 

After  a  pause  the  order  was  given  that  "those  who  desired 
to  hacJc  out  would  step  three  paces  to  the  rear,"  but  not  a  man 
withdrew.  Shelby  then  addressed  the  men  in  words  which 
convey  a  vivid  impression  of  the  spirit  of  the  movement  and 
the  character  of  the  campaign : 

I  am  heartily  glad  to  see  you  to  a  man  resolve  to  meet  and  fight 
your  country's  foes.  When  we  encounter  the  enemy,  don't  wait  for 
the  word  of  command.  Let  each  one  of  you  be  your  own  officer,  and 
do  the  very  best  you  can,  taking  every  care  you  can  of  yourselves, 
and  availing  yourselves  of  every  advantage  that  chance  may  throw  in 
your  way.  If  in  the  woods,  shelter  yourselves,  and  give  them  Indian 
play ;  advance  from  tree  to  tree,  pressing  the  enemy  and  killing  and 
disabling  all  you  can.  Tour  officers  will  shrink  from  no  danger — 
they  will  be  consistently  with  you,  and  the  moment  the  enemy  give 
war,  be  on  the  alert  and  strictly  obey  orders.* 

The  taunt  of  Ferguson,  by  which  he  had  hoped  to  intimi- 
date the  men  of  the  back-country,  evoked  a  retort  he  little 
expected.  Ferguson's  principal  object  at  this  time  was  to 
strike  a  crushing  blow  at  the  small  band  of  partisans  under 
Captain  Elijah  Clarke,  who  about  the  middle  of  September 
was  threatening  Augusta,  Georgia,  and  was  still  hovering 
dangerously  near  the  Carolina  line.  Ferguson  was  hoping 
for  and  expecting  the  return  of  furloughed  loyalists  in  large 
numbers  under  Gibbes,  the  militia  under  Cruger  at  JSTinety- 
Six,  or  Tarleton's  Legion  ordered  thither  by  Cornwallis.  Two 
deserters  from  the  camp  of  the  Americans  came  in  on  Septem- 
ber 30  to  warn  Ferguson  of  the  approach  of  the  frontier  army. 
Had  Ferguson  struck  straight  for  Charlotte  and  a  junction 
there  with  Cornwallis^  he  might  have  eluded  Campbell's 
force.  But  he  was  confronted  with  the  danger  of  permitting 
the  union  of  the  forces  of  Clarke  and  Campbell ;  the  necessity 
of  recalling  numerous  Tories^  absent  on  furlough  belonging 
to  his  own  force ;  and  the  danger  of  disaffection  to  the  loyalist 
cause  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  that  region.  Perhaps  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Cruger  had  a  deeper  insight  into  the  nature  of 
the  situation  than  had  Ferguson ;  for  in  his  reply  (October  3, 
1Y80)   to  Ferguson's  dispatch  of  September  30th,  with  its 

'Testimony  of  John  Spelts,  called  "Continental  Jack,"  who  was  present. 


10  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

alarming  news  of  "so  considerable  (a)  force  as  you  understand 
is  coming  from  the  mountains,"  Cruger  makes  these  eminently 
sane  observations:  "I  Don't  see  bow  you  can  possibly  (de- 
fend) the  country  and  its  neighborhood  that  you  (are)  now 
in,  ...  I  flattered  myself  they  (the  Tory  militia) 
would  have  been  equal  to  the  mountain  lads,  and  that  no 
further  call  for  the  defensive  would  have  been  (made?)  on 
this  part  of  the  Province.  I  begin  to  think  our  views  for 
the  present  rather  large.  We  have  been  led  to  this,  proba- 
bly, in  expecting  too  much  from  the  militia. "-^^ 

Aware  of  some  of  the  dangers  incident  to  the  situation, 
Ferguson  despatched  messengers  to  Cornwallis,  asking  for 
assistance ;  but  these,  being  pursued,  were  delayed  by  reason 
of  the  circuitous  route  they  were  forced  to  take^  and  so  did  not 
reach  Charlotte  until  the  day  after  the  battle  at  King's  Moun- 
tain. Ferguson  scorned  to  seek  protection  by  making  a 
forced  march  in  order  to  effect  a  junction  with  Cornwallis  at 
Charlotte.  He  preferred  to  make  a  stand,  and,  if  possible, 
to  dispose  once  for  all  of  this  barbarian  mountain  horde. 
From  his  camp  FergTison  issued  the  following  inflammatory 
and  obscene  appeal  to  the  people,  well  calculated  to  arouse 
their  bitter  hostility  to  the  approaching  band,  which  he  char- 
acterized as  murderers  of  men  and  ravishers  of  women. 

Denard's  Ford,  Broad  River, 
Tryon  County,  October  1,  1780. 

Gentlemen  : — Unless  you  wish  to  be  eat  up  by  an  inundation  of  bar- 
barians, who  have  begun  by  murdering  an  unarmed  son  before  his 
aged  father  and  afterward  lopped  off  his  arms,  and  who  by  their 
shocking  cruelties  and  irregularities,  give  the  best  proof  of  their 
cowardice  and  want  of  discipline;  I  say  if  you  want  to  be  pinioned, 
robbed,  and  murdered,  and  see  your  wives  and  daughters,  in  four 
days,  abused  by  the  dregs  of  mankind— in  short,  if  you  wish  or 
deserve  to  live,  and  bear  the  name  of  men  grasp  your  arms  in  a  mo- 
ment and  run  to  camp. 

The  Back  Water  men  have  crossed  the  mountains ;  McDowell, 
Hampton,  Shelby,  and  Cleveland  are  at  their  head,  so  that  you  know 


MThis  letter  was  found  on  Ferguson's  dead  body,  after  the  battle  of  King's 
Mountain.     See  Ramsey :  Annals  of  Tennessee,  241-2. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  11 

what  you  have  to  depend  upon.  If  you  choose  to  be  p — d  upon  by 
a  set  of  mongrels,  say  so  at  once,  and  let  your  women  turn  their 
backs  upon  you  and  look  out  for  real  men  to  protect  them. 

Pat.  Ferguson, 
Major  71st  Regiment.^ 

Loitering  on  his  march,  presumably  in  the  hope  of  striking 
Clarke,  Ferguson  did  not  reach  King's  Moimtain  until  Octo- 
ber 6.  On  reaching  Gilbert  Town  (near  Rutherfordton, 
JN^.  C.)  on  October  4,  the  Americans  discovered  that  Fergu- 
son had  retired.  "Having  gained  a  knowledge  of  his  design/' 
related  Shelby,  "it  was  determined  in  a  council  of  the  princi- 
pal officers  to  pursue  him  with  all  possible*  dispatch.  Ac- 
cordingly two  nights  before  the  action  the  officers  were 
engaged  all  night  in  selecting  the  best  men,  the  best  horses 
and  the  best  rifles,  and  at  the  dawn  of  day  took  Ferguson's 
trail  and  pursued  him.  ,  .  .  The  mountain  men  had 
turned  out  to  catch  FergTison.  He  was  their  object,  and  for 
the  last  thirty-six  hours  they  never  alighted  from  their  horses 
but  once  to  refresh  at  the  Cowpens  for  an  hour  (where  they 
were  joined  by  Col.  Williams  of  South  Carolina,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  6th  with  about  400  men),  although  the  day  of  the 
action  was  so  extremely  wet  that  the  men  could  only  keep  their 
gTins  dry  by  wrapping  their  bags,  blankets  and  hunting  shirts 
around  the  locks,  which  exposed  their  bodies  to  a  heavy  and 
incessant  rain."^^ 

In  this  connection,  there  is  need  of  further  detail  in  regard 
to  the  force  under  Williams.  The  account  given  by  Draper 
is  at  once  imperfect  and  distorted ;  and  his  estimate  is  griev- 
ously warped  by  the  prejudiced  account  written  by  South 
Carolinians  who  held  Williams  in  detestation.  James  D. 
Williams  was  not  a  South  Carolinian ;  he  was  born  in  Han- 
over County,  Virginia,  in  November,  1740.  Since  childhood 
he  had  lived  in  Granville  County,  IST.  C,  whither  the  Williams 


^Virginia  Gazette,  November  11,  1780.  The  barbarous  atrocity  alluded  to  at 
the  beginning  of  this  letter  is  unsupported  by  evidence  of  any  kind. 

^'Autobiography  of  Isaac  Shelby,  an  exact  transcription  of  which  I  procured 
from  the  late  Colonel  R.  T.  Durrett,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky.  The  valuable 
Durrett  Collection  of  Manuscripts  on  Western  History  is  now  owned  by  the 
University  of  Chicago. 


12  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

family  removed  at  an  early  date ;  and  here  he  remained  until 
1772,  when  he  went  to  South  Carolina  and  settled  on  Little 
Eiver  in  Laurens  County.  At  the  battle  of  Musgrove  Mill, 
as  related  by  Shelby  himself,  Williams^ ^  commanded  the 
American  center,  while  Shelby  and  Clarke  commanded  the 
right  and  left  wings,  respectively.  The  most  reliable  authori- 
ties state  that  Williams  held  the  chief  command  in  this  bat- 
tle. ^^  On  his  arrival  at  Hillsborough  whither  he  conducted 
the  prisoners  taken  at  Musgrove  Mill,  Williams  conveyed  the 
news  of  this  victory  to  Grovernor  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina, 
then  a  refugee  from  his  own  State.  In  recognition  of  the 
victory  at  Musgrove  Mill,  achieved  by  the  force  commanded 
by  Williams^  Governor  Rutledge  commissioned  him  as  a 
brigadier  general  in  the  South  Carolina  militia.-*^^  On  Sep- 
tember 8,  Governor  Abner  Nash  of  North  Carolina  instructed 
General  Williams  to  go  to  Caswell  and  other  counties  and 
recruit  a  corps  of  volunteer  horsemen,  not  to  exceed  one  hun- 
dred, for  active  service  against  the  enemy. -"^^  This  force, 
about  seventy  in  number,  Williams  enlisted  chiefly  while 
encamped  at  Higgins'  plantation  in  Rowan  County.  These 
recruits  were  brave  and  reliable  soldiers ;  and  they  came  from 
a  county  noted  for  its  patriotism  and  its  hostility  to  England. 
"It  was  evident  and  it  had  frequently  been  mentioned  to  the 
King's  Officers,"  says  Banastre  Tarleton  in  his  Campaigns 
of  1 780  and  1 781  in  the  Southern,  Provinces,  "that  the  coun- 
ties of  Mecklenburg  and  Rowan  were  more  hostile  to  Eng- 
land that  any  others  in  America.  "■'■^ 

^Cf.     "Isaac  Shelby,"  I,  p.  140,  North  Carolina  Booklet,  January,  1917. 

"A  Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Career  of  Col.  James  D.  Williams,  by  Rev.  J.  D. 
Bailey    (Cowpens,   S.   C,   1898). 

i^The  official  report,  which  In  itself  constitutes  proof  that  Williams  was  in 
command  at  Musgrove  Mill,  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Williams  ;  and  this  is 
the  only  contemporary  report  of  the  battle  from  the  field.  On  September  5, 
1780,  Williams'  official  report  was  forwarded  by  General  Gates  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  Congress.  The  full  report  was  published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet 
on  September  23,  and  doubtless  earlier  in  North  Carolina  newspapers  ;  but  the 
substance  of  the  report,  doubtless  communicated  by  Governor  Rutledge,  ap- 
peared in  the  Virginia  Gazette  as  early  as  September  13.  Compare  also  North 
Carolina  University  Magazine,  March,  1855. 

I'For  a  copy  of  the  original  order,  see  Schenck,  North  Carolina,  1780-1781, 
143w. 

"The  slur  cast  upon  these  Rowan  recruits  by  the  venomous  Colonel  Hill  in 
his  Manuscript  Narrative  only  reflect  upon  their  author.  The  Legislature  of 
North  Carolina,  in  November,  1788,  acting  upon  a  report  submitted  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Person,   resolved :   "That  the  estate  of  James  Williams,   deceased,   late 


ISAAC    SHELBY  13 

The  number  chosen  from  the  over-mountain  men  to  go 
forward  from  the  ford  of  Green  River  on  the  night  of  Octo- 
ber 5  J  was  about  seven  hundred ;  and  at  the  Cowpens,  as  accu- 
rately stated  by  Shelby,  they  were  reinforced  by  four  hundred 
men  under  Williams. -^^  Here  a  second  selection  of  nine  hun- 
dred and  ten  horsemen  was  made ;  and  Colonel  Campbell  was 
retained  in  the  chief  command — the  urgency  of  the  pursuit 
making  it  inadvisable  to  await  the  coming  of  the  general  offi- 
cer for  whom  Col.  Charles  McDowell  had  gone  to  Hillsbor- 
ough. This  force,  closely  followed  by  some  eighty-odd  foot- 
men ("foot-cavalry")  pushed  forward  from  the  Cowpens  on 
the  night  of  October  6,  in  pursuit  of  the  elusive  Ferguson. 

So  heavy  was  the  fall  of  rain  during  the  forenoon  and  so 
weary  and  jaded  were  the  men,  that  Campbell,  Sevier  and 
Cleveland  urged  a  halt ;  but  to  this  proposal  the  iron  Shelby, 
intent  upon  the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  men  who  had 
threatened  to  hang  him,  gruffly  replied  with  an  oath :  "I  will 
not  stop  until  night,  if  I  follow  Ferguson  into  Cornwallis' 
lines."  As  they  approached  King's  Mountain,  they  encoun- 
tered three  men  who  reported  that  they  were  just  from  the 
British  camp,  which  was  posted  upon  the  plateau,  and  that 
there  was  a  picket  guard  on  the  road  not  far  ahead.  "These 
men,"  says  Benjamin  Sharp  in  his  account,  "were  detained 
lest  they  should  find  means  to  inform  the  enemy  of  our  ap- 
proach, and  Col.  Shelby,  with  a  select  party,  undertook  to  sur- 
prise and  take  the  picket ;  this  he  accomplished  without  firing 
a  gun  or  giving  the  least  alarm ;  and  it  was  hailed  by  the  army 
as  a  good  omen."^^ 


isQn  October  2,  Brigadier  General  Williams  reported  to  Major-General  Gates 
that  the  number  then  with  him  in  Burlie  County  was  "about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  horsemen."  Cf.  N.  C.  State  Records,  xv.  94.  He  was  in  error  as  to  his 
location,  which  was  actually  in  Lincoln  County. 

'^^ American  Pioneer,  February,  1843. 

of  the  State  of  S.  C.  be  released  and  acquitted  from  the  payment  of  $25,000 
advanced  to  the  said  deceased  in  his  lifetime  (1780)  by  this  state  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  men  for  the  defense  of  this  and  the  United  States,  it  having 
been  manifested  to  this  Assembly  that  he  was  in  action  at  the  Battle  of  King's 
Mountain  where  he  headed  three  or  four  hundred  men  and  in  which  action  he 
gloriously  fell,  a  sacrifice  to  liberty."  See  W.  A.  Graham :  Gen.  Joseph  Gra- 
ham and  His  Revolutionary  Papers,  282-3.  In  speaking  of  "our  march  to  the 
Yadkin,"  Cornwallis  calls  the  Rowan  section  "one  of  the  most  rebellious  tracts 
in  America." 


14  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

IV 

The  remarkable  battle  which  ensued  presents  an  extraordi- 
nary contrast  in  the  character  of  the  combatants  and  the 
nature  of  the  strategy  and  tactics  employed.  Each  party  ran 
true  to  form — the  heroic  and  brilliant  Ferguson  repeating 
Braddock's  suicidal  tactics  of  opposing  bayonet  charges  to 
the  deadly  fusillade  of  riflemen^  carefully  posted,  Indian 
fashion,  behind  trees  and  every  shelter  afforded  by  the  natural 
inequalities  of  the  ground.  In  the  army  of  the  Carolina  and 
Virginia  frontiersmen,  composed  of  independent  commands 
recruited  from  many  sources  and  each  solicitous  for  its  own 
credit,  each  command  was  directed  in  the  battle  by  its  own 
leader.  Campbell,  like  Cleveland,  Shelby,  McDowell,  Sevier, 
and  Hambright,  personally  led  his  own  division;  but  the 
nature  of  the  fighting  and  the  peculiarity  of  the  terrain  made 
it  impossible  for  him,  though  the  chosen  commander  of  the 
expedition,  in  actuality  to  play  such  a  role.  The  tactics 
agreed  upon  in  advance  by  the  frontier  commanders  were 
simple  enough — to  surround  and  capture  Ferguson's  camp 
on  the  high  plateau.  The  more  experienced  Indian  fighters, 
Sevier  and  Shelby,  unquestionably  suggested  the  general 
tactics  in  accordance  with  their  experience,  which  in  any  case 
would  doubtless  have  been  employed  by  the  frontiersmen:  to 
give  the  British  "Indian-play,"  namely,  to  take  cover  any- 
where and  fire  from  natural  shelter.  Cleveland,  a  Hercules  in 
strength  and  courage,  who  had  fought  the  Indians  and  recog- 
nized the  wisdom  of  Indian  tactics,  ordered  his  men,  as  did 
some  of  the  other  leaders,  to  give  way  before  a  bayonet  charge 
— but  to  return  to  the  attack  after  the  charge  had  spent  its 
force. 

My  brave  fellows,  we  have  beaten  the  Tories  and  we  can  do  it  again. 
.  .  .  If  they  had  the  spiilt  of  men,  they  would  join  with  their 
fellow-citizens  in  supporting  the  independence  of  their  country.  When 
you  are  engaged,  you  are  not  to  wait  for  the  word  of  command  from 
me.  I  will  show  you,  by  my  example,  how  to  fight ;  I  can  undertake 
no  more.     Every  man  must  consider  himself  an  officer  and  act  from 


ISAAC    SHELBY  15 

his  own  judgment.  Fire  as  quick  as  you  can,  and  stand  your  ground 
as  long  as  you  can.  When  you  can  do  no  better,  get  behind  trees 
or  retreat;  but  I  beg  you  not  to  run  quite  off.  If  we  are  repulsed, 
let  us  make  a  point  of  returning  and  renewing  the  fight;  perhaps  we 
may  have  better  luck  in  the  second  attempt  than  in  the  first. 

The  plateau  upon  which  Ferguson  was  encamped  was  the 
top  of  an  eminence  about  six  hundred  yards  long  and  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  from  one  base  across  to  the  other ;  and 
its  shape  was  that  of  an  Indian  paddle,  varying  from  one 
hundred  and  twenty  yards  at  the  blade  to  sixty  yards  at  the 
handle  in  width.  Outcropping  boulders  upon  the  outer  edge 
of  the  plateau  afforded  some  slight  shelter  for  Ferguson's 
force;  but^  unsuspicious  of  the  coming  attack,  Ferguson  had 
made  no  abatis  to  protect  his  camp  from  the  attack  to 
which  it  was  so  vulnerable  from  the  cover  of  the  timber  sur- 
rounding it  on  all  sides.  In  taking  their  positions,  the  cen- 
ter to  the  I^orth-East  was  occupied  b}'  Cleveland  with  his 
Bulldogs,  Hambright  with  his  South  Fork  Boysv,  from  the 
Catawba  (now  Lincoln  County,  ISTorth  Carolina),  and  Win- 
ston with  his  Surry  Riflemen;  to  the  South  were  the  divi- 
sions under  Joseph  McDowell  (brother  of  Charles)  who  was 
in  touch  with  Winston,  Sevier  and  Campbell ;  while  the  South 
Carolinians  under  Lacey,  who  was  in  touch  with  Cleveland, 
the  Rowan  levies  under  Williams,  and  the  Watauga  borderers 
under  Shelby  were  stationed  upon  the  ISTorth  side.  FergTi- 
son's  force  consisted  of  Provincial  Rangers,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  strong,  and  of  well  drilled  loyalists,  between  eight  and 
nine  hundred,  seriously  weakened  by  the  absence  of  a  forag- 
ing party  of  between  one  and  two  hundred  who  had  gone  off 
on  the  morning  the  battle  occurred.  Shelby's  men,  before 
getting  into  position,  received  a  hot  fire,  the  opening  shots  of 
the  engagement — which  inspired  Campbell,  who  now  threw 
oif  his  coat,  to  shout  encouraging  orders  to  his  men,  posted  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain  opposite  to  Shelby's  force.  When 
Campbell's  Virginians  uttered  a  series  of  piercing  shouts,  De 


16  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

Peyster,  second  in  command,  remarked  to  his  chief:  "These 
things  are  ominous — these  are  the  damned  yelling  boys," 

The  battle,  which  lasted  some  minutes  short  of  an  hour, 
was  waged  with  terrific  ferocity.  The  loyalist  militia,  where- 
ever  possible,  fired  from  the  shelter  of  the  rocks ;  while  the 
Provincial  Corps,  with  fixed  bayonets,  steadily  charged  the 
frontiersmen,  who  fired  at  close  range  and  rapidly  withdrew 
to  the  very  base  of  the  mountain.  After  each  bayonet  charge, 
the  Provincials  coolly  withdrew  to  the  summit,  under  the  ac- 
cumulating fire  of  the  returning  mountaineers,  who  quickly 
gathered  in  their  rear.  Owing  to  their  elevation,  the  British, 
although  using  the  rapid-fire  breech-loading  rifle  invented  by 
Ferguson  himself,  found  their  vision  deflected,  continually 
firing  high ;  and  thus  suffered  nature's  handicap,  refraction. ^^ 
The  militia,  using  sharpened  butcher  knives  which  Ferg-uson 
taught  them  to  utilize  as  bayonets,  charged  against  the  moun- 
taineers; but  their  fire,  in  answer  to  the  deadly  fusillade  of 
the  expert  squirrel  shooters,  was  belated,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  they  could  not  fire  so  long  as  the  crudely  improvised 
bayonets  remained  in  their  pieces.  The  Americans,  contin- 
ually firing  upward,  found  ready  marks  for  their  aim  in  the 
clearly  delineated  outlines  of  their  adversaries ;  and  felt  the 
exultation  which  animates  the  hunter  who  has  tracked  to  his 
lair  and  entrapped  wild  game  at  bay. 

The  leaders  of  the  various  divisions  of  the  mountaineers 
bore  themselves  with  impetuous  bravery,  recklessly  exposing 
themselves  between  the  lines  of  fire  and  with  native  eloquence, 
interspersed  with  mild  profanity,  rallying  their  individual 
commands,  from  end  to  end,  once  more  to  the  attack.  Camp- 
bell scaled  the  rugged  heights,  encouraging  his  men  to  the 
ascent.  Cleveland  resolutely  facing  the  foe,  rallied  his  bull- 
dogs with  the  inspiriting  words:  "Come,  boys,  let's  try  'em 
again.  We'll  have  better  luck  next  time."  The  most  deadly 
charge,  led  by  De  Peyster  himself,  fell  upon  Hambright's 
South  Fork  boys ;  and  Major  Chronicle,  waving  his  military 

20F.  Brevard  McDowell :  The  Battle  of  King's  Mountain. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  17 

hat,  fell  dead,  the  command,  "Face  to  the  hill !"  dying  upon 
his  lips.  These  veteran  soldiers  met  the  shock  of  the  charge ; 
a  number  of  their  men  were  shot  down  or  transfixed,  and 
the  remainder^  reserving  their  fire  until  the  charging  column 
was  only  a  few  feet  away^  poured  in  a  deadly  volley  before 
retiring.  William  Lenoir,  independently  fighting  in  Wins- 
ton's column,  was  in  the  forefront  of  the  hottest  battle,  his 
reckless  bravery  making  him  a  veritable  target  for  the 
enemy.  He  received  several  wounds  and  his  hair  and  his 
clothes  were  riddled  with  bullets.  The  ranking  American 
officer.  Brigadier  General  James  -  Williams,  was  mortally 
wounded  on  the  ''vei*y  top  of  the  mountain,  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight" ;  and  as  he  revived  for  a  moment,  an  eye-wit- 
ness relates^  his  first  words  were:  "For  Grod's  sake,  boys, 
don't  give  up  the  hill."  Hambright,  sorely  wounded,  his 
boot  overflowing  with  blood  and  his  hat  riddled  with  three 
bullet  holes,  declined  to  dismount,  but  pressed  gallantly  for- 
ward, exclaiming  in  his  "Pennsylvania  Dutch" :  "Huzza,  my 
prave  poys,  fight  on  a  few  minutes  more,  and  te  pattle  will 
be  over!"  On  the  British  side  Fergnison  was  supremely 
brave,  rapidly  dashing  from  one  side  to  the  other,  oblivious 
to  all  danger.  Wherever  the  shrill  note  of  his  silver  whistle 
sounded,  there  the  fighting  was  hottest  and  the  British  resist- 
ance deadliest.  His  officers  fought  with  the  characteristic 
steadiness  of  the  British  soldier,  and  again  and  again  charged 
headlong  against  the  wavering  circle  of  the  frontiersmen.^^ 

Ferguson's  authentic  boast — that  "he  was  on  King's  Moun- 
tain, that  he  was  king  of  the  mountain  and  that  God  Almighty 
could  not  drive  him  from  it" — was  doubtless  prompted,  less 
by  belief  in  the  impregnability  of  his  position,  than  by  a 
desire  to  inspire  confidence  in  his  men.  His  position  was 
admirably  chosen  for  defense  against  attack  by  troops  employ- 
ing regulation  tactics ;  but  never  dreaming  of  the  possibility 
of  sudden  investment,  Ferguson  had  erected  no  defenses  for 


2iForerunners    of    the    Republic :    "Isaac    Shelby,"    Neale's    Monthly,    March. 
1913. 


18  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

his  encampment.  The  disesteem  in  which  he  held  the  moun- 
taineers found  expression  in  the  passionate  declaration:  "I 
will  never  surrender  to  such  damned  banditti  as  the  mountain 
men."  His  frenzied  efforts  on  the  battle-field  seem  like  a 
mad  rush  against  fate;  for  his  position  was  indefensible 
against  the  peculiar  tactics  of  the  frontiersmen.  While  the 
mountain  flamed  like  a  volcano  and  resounded  with  the  thun- 
der of  the  guns,  a  steady  stricture  was  in  progTess ;  the  lines 
were  drawn  tighter  and  tighter  around  the  trapped  and  fran- 
tically struggling  army;  and  at  last  the  fall  of  their  com- 
mander, riddled  with  bullets,  proved  the  mad  futility  of  fur- 
ther resistance.  The  game  was  caught  and  bagged  to  a  man. 
When  Winston  with  his  fox-hunters  of  Surry  dashed  reck- 
lessly through  the  woods,  says  a  chronicler  of  the  battle,  and 
•''the  last  to  come  into  position: 


then 


'Flow'd  in,  and  settling,  circled  all  the  lists,' 

'From  all  the  circle  of  the  hills 
Death  sleeted  in  upon  the  doomed.'  "'^ 


In  reviewing  the  details  of  the  battle,  especial  interest 
attaches  here  to  everything  which  concerns  Isaac  Shelby.  In 
a  contemporary  letter  to  his  father,  he  gives  the  following 
terse  account  of  the  battle : 

That  Providence  who  always  rules  and  governs  all  things  for  the 
best,  so  ordered  it  that  we  were  around  them  before  we  were  discov- 
ered, and  formed  in  such  position,  so  as  to  fire  on  them  nearly 
about  (sic)  the  same  time,  though  they  heard  us  in  time  to  form  and 
stood  ready.  The  battle  continued  warm  for  an  hour ;  the  enemy 
finding  themselves  so  embarassed  on  all  sides,  surrendered  them- 
selves prisoners  to  us  at  discretion. 

They  had  taken  post  at  that  place  with  the  confidence  that  no  force 
could  rout  them ;  the  mountain  was  high,  and  exceedingly  steep,  so 


22J.  W.  de  Peyster :  "The  Affair  at  King's  Mountain."  Reprinted  from  The 
Magazine  of  American  History,  Dec,  1880.  Cf.  also  the  same  writer's  sketch  : 
"The  Battle  or  Affair  of  King's  Mountain,"  1881.  These  give  the  extreme 
British  view. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  19 

that  their  situation  gave  them  greatly  the  advantage;  indeed  it  was 
almost  equal  to  storming  a  battery.  In  most  cases  we  could  not  see 
them  until  we  were  within  twenty  yards  of  them.  They  repelled  us 
three  times  with  charged  bayonets ;  but  being  determined  to  conquer 
or  die,  we  came  up  a  fourth  time,  and  fairly  got  possession  of  the  top 
of  the  mountain.^ 

The  final  general  order  to  the  mountain  men,  before  the 
engagement,  was  eloquent  of  thei  general  determination: 
"Fresh  prime  your  giins,  and  every  man  go  into  battle  firmly 
resolved  to  fight  till  he  dies !" 

"The  enemy,"  says  Robert  Campbell,  "annoyed  our  troops 
very  much  from  their  advantageous  position.  Col.  Shelby, 
being  previously  ordered  to  reconnoitre  their  position,  observ- 
ing their  situation,  and  what  a  destructive  fire  was  kept  up 
from  those  rocks,  ordered  Robert  Campbell,  one  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Virginia  Line,  to  move  to  the  right  with  a  small 
company  to  endeavor  to  dislodge  them,  and  lead  them  on 
nearly  to  the  ground  which  he  had  ordered  them,  under  fire 
of  the  enemy's  lines  and  within  forty  steps  of  the  same;  but 
discovering  that  our  men  were  repulsed  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountain,  he  gave  orders  to  advance,  and  post  themselves 
opposite  to  the  rocks,  and  near  to  thei  enemy,  and  then  re- 
turned to  assist  in  bringing  up  the  men  in  order,  who  had 
been  charged  with  the  bayonet.  These  orders  were  punc- 
tually obeyed,  and  they  kept  up  such  a  galling  fire  as  to  com- 
pel Ferguson  to  order  a  company  of  regulars  to  face  them, 
with  a  view  to  cover  his  men  that  were  posted  behind  the  rocks. 
At  this  time  a  considerable  fire  was  drawn  to  this  side  of 
the  mountain  by  the  repulse  of  those  on  the  other,  and  the 
Loyalists  not  being  permitted  to  leave  their  posts.  This 
scene  was  not  of  long  duration,  for  it  was  the  brave  Virginia 
volunteers,  and  those  under  Col.  Shelby,  on  their  attempting 
rapidly  to  ascend  the  mountain,  that  were  charged  with  the 
bayonet.  They  obstinately  stood  until  some  of  them  were 
thrust  through  the  body,  and  having  nothing  but  their  rifies 
by  which  to  defend  themselves,  they  were  forced  to  retreat. 


'^Virginia  Gazette,  Nov.  4,   1780. 


20  THE    NORTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

They  were  soon  rallied  by  their  gallant  eomnianders,  Camp- 
hell,  Shelby,  and  other  brave  officers,  and  by  a  constant  and 
well-directed  fire  of  their  rifles,  drove  them  back  in  their  turn, 
strewing  the  face  of  the  mountain  with  their  assailants,  and 
kept  advancing  until  they  drove  them  from  some  of  their 
posts."^*  Shelby's  men,  by  his  own  statement,  actually 
reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain  which  '  Vas  covered  with 
flame  and  smoke  and  seemed  to  thunder."^^ 

The  regiments  of  Shelby  and  Campbell  began  the  attack; 
and  the  enemy  first  fired  upon  Shelby's  men  before  they  were 
in  position.  This  galling  fire  distressed  the  mountaineers, 
who  were  heard  to  mutter  that  "it  would  never  do  to  be  shot 
down  without  returning  the  fire."  To  which  the  intrepid 
Shelby  cooly  replied :  "Pass  on  to  your  places,  and  then  your 
fire  will  not  be  lost."^®  Bancroft  says :  "Shelby,  a  man  of  the 
hardiest  make,  stiff  as  iron,  among  the  dauntless  singled  out 
for  dauntlessness,  went  right  onward  and  upward  like  a  man 
who  had  but  one  thing  to  do,  and  but  one  thought — to  do  it." 
Brave  as  he  and  his  men  were,  says  Draper,  they,  too,  had  to 
retreat  before  the  charging  column,  but  firing  as  they  retired. 
When,  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  Shelby  wanted  to  bring  his 
men  to  order,  he  would  cry  out — "Now,  boys,  quickly  reload 
your  rifles,  and  give  them  another  hell  of  a  fire."^^ 

Throughout  the  entire  battle,  Shelby's  inspiriting  battle- 
3ry  was :  "ISTever  shoot  until  you  see  an  enemy,  and  never  see 
an  enemy  without  bringing  him  down."^^ 

Shelby  was  in  the  very  front  line  of  the  fight  from  the 
outset  of  the  engagement  to  its  very  close.  "When  the 
British  were  loudly  calling  for  quarters,  but  uncertain 
whether  they  would  be  granted,"  says  Benjamin  Sharp^  "I 
saw  the  intrepid  Shelby  rush  his  horse  within  fifteen  paces  of 
their  lines,  and  commanded  them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and 
they  should  have  quarters.     Some  would  call  this  an  impru- 

^Annals  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  Oct.,  1878. 

^Haywood's  Tennessee. 

28Foote's  Sketches  of  North  Carolina   (Graham's  Sketch),  p.   268. 

^MS.  statement  of  Gen.  Thomas  Love,  derived  from  Captain  David  Vance. 

28Nile's  National  Register,  iv.  403. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  21 

dent  act,  but  it  shows  the  daring  bravery  of  the  man."^^  As 
the  demoralized  Tories  continued  to  cry  "Quarters!  Quar- 
ters!," Shelby  fiercely  shouted:  "Damn  you!  If  you  want 
quarters,  throw  down  your  arms!"  In  a  letter  written  by 
John  Sevier  to  Isaac  Shelby  (Aug.  2Y,  1812),  we  read:  "You 
were  in  the  heat  of  the  action.  I  frequently  saw  you  ani- 
mating your  men  to  victory.  At  the  surrender,  you  were  the 
first  field  officer  I  recollect  to  have  seen.  ...  I  per- 
fectly recollect  on  seeing  you  at  the  close  of  the  action,  that 

I  swore  by they  had  burnt  off  your  hair,  for  it  was  much 

burnt  on  one  side." 

Owing  to  the  volley  fired  upon  the  victors  by  a  returning 
foraging  party  of  the  British,  a  fire  which  killed  the  daring 
General  James  Williams,  the  incensed  Americans  under 
Campbell's  orders  returned  the  fire,  though  the  British  had 
already  surrendered.  This  created  a  very  alarming  situation, 
and  Shelby,  who  feared  that  the  enemy  might  yet,  perhaps, 
snatch  up  their  arms  in  self-defense  and  resume  the  battle^  ex- 
claimed: "Good  God!  What  can  we  do  in  the  confusion?" 
"We  can  order  the  prisoners  from  their  arms,"  said  Captain 
Sawyers.  "Yes,"  responded  Shelby,  "that  can  be  done" ;  and 
the  prisoners  were  accordingly  marched  off,  and  placed  under 
a  strong  guard. 

Ferguson  was  mortally  wounded  near  the  close  of  the 
action;  and  as  he  was  being  carried  off,  the  exultant  Shelby 
rode  up  and  with  incredible  callousness  said  to  him,  though 
doubtless  life  was  then  totally  extinct :  "Colonel,  the  fatal 
blow  is  struck — we've  Burgoyned  you."^^  In  the  division  of 
Ferguson's  effects,  the  foot-long  silver  whistle,  the  piercing 
note  of  which  had  been  heard  again  and  again  above  the 
clamor  and  din  of  the  battle,  fell  to  Shelby's  lot. 

According  to  expert  military  opinion,  the  plan  of  attack 
employed  by  the  Americans  was  probably  the  only  method 
of  assault  by  which  the  British  could  have  been  defeated. 
Impartial  examination  of  all  the  evidence  available,  which 

^American  Pioneer,  Feb.,   1843. 

*0Related  by  Thos.  H.  Spelts  and  Thomas  H.  Shelby,  a  son  of  the  Colonel. 


32  THE  NOETH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

includes  much  material  not  accessible  to  Draper,  leads  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  chief  credit  for  inaugurating  the  entire 
campaign  belongs  to  Shelby.  The  nominal  leadership  was 
conferred  upon  Campbell ;  and  among  the  reasons,  not  already 
mentioned,  assigned  for  giving  him  the  chief  command,  were 
that  he  commanded  the  largest  division  of  the  forces  and  had 
come  from  the  greatest  distance.  In  the  battle  the  conditions 
of  combat  enabled  him  to  do  little  more  than  lead  the  men  of 
his  own  division ;  and  this  he  did  with  conspicuous  bravery 
and  gallantry.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  the  very 
tactics  pursued  in  the  battle,  the  only  tactics  it  would  seem 
which  could  have  been  successful,  were  outlined,  not  by 
Campbell,  but  by  Shelby  himself.  The  following  significant 
lines,  from  a  letter  written  to  Shelby  by  Colonel  John  Sevier, 
from  Marble  Springs,  Tennessee,  August  27,  1812,  are  elo- 
quent on  the  point : — 

As  to  the  plan  of  attacking  the  enemy,  yourself  was  the  only  person 
that  named  the  mode  to  me,  and  the  same  was  acceded  to  unani- 
mously. No  doubt  you  recollect  we  argued  on  the  manner  of  attack 
immediately  after  Ferguson's  spies  were  taken,  while  we  were  a  little 
in  front  of  our  army,  and  as  we  were  returning  back  to  Campbell  and 
the  other  offlcers.^^ 

VI 

A  digression  from  the  continuity  of  the  narrative  is  neces- 
sary at  this  point,  in  order  to  bring  to  light  valuable  docu- 
ments, hitherto  unpublished,  which  throw  into  truer  perspec- 
tive the  role  played  by  Shelby  in  the  King's  Mountain  cam- 
paign. They  tend  to  correct  some  of  the  false  impressions 
fostered  by  Roosevelt  and,  to  a  lesser  degree,  by  Draper. 

On  February  11,  1781,  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate, 
in  session  at  Halifax,  placed  the  following  on  record : — 

Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  of  this  House  be  requested,  with  the 
Speaker  of  the  Commons,  to  transmit  to  Colonel  Campbell,  of  Vlr- 


si"Hero  of  Three  Wars,"  by  C.  H.  Todd,  in  Journal  of  American  History, 
2nd  number,  2nd  volume,  1908.  These  lines  from  Sevier's  letter  have  been 
omitted  generally  by  historians,  even  by  Draper  in  King's  Mountain  and  Its 
Heroes  (pp.  575-6).     Such  an  omission  is  almost  inexplicable. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  23 

glnia,  Colonel  Cleveland,  Colonel  Shelby,  and  the  brave  Officei's  and 
Soldiers  under  their  command  the  following  address,  to  wit: 

Gentlemen  : 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  impressed 
with  a  deep  sense  of  your  eminent  services  during  the  last  Summer's 
Campaign  have  unanimously  resolved  that  the  Speakers  of  the  two 
Houses  should  transmit  to  you  their  warmest  acknowledgments  for 
your  spirited  and  vigorous  Exertions  against  the  formidable  body  of 
British  Forces  under  Major  Ferguson  at  King's  Mountain.  The  alac- 
rity with  which  you  stepped  forth  uncalled  for  by  Authority,  your 
Vigilance  in  Marching  to,  and  your  conduct  in,  the  attack  of  the 
Enemy,  deserve  the  highest  Encomiums,  and  strongly  mark  Patriot- 
ism and  Heroism  united  in  the  same  persons.  To  these  Virtues, 
which  you,  Gentlemen,  so  happily  possess,  your  Country  is  indebted 
for  the  important  Victory  which  frustrated  the  schemes  of  the  enemy, 
awed  many  of  the  disaffected  into  submission,  and  rescued  the  west- 
ern parts  of  this  State  from  devastation  and  ruin  and  the  horrors 
attendant  on  a  War  directed  by  Tyranny  and  pursued  with  vindic- 
tive Resentment. 

We  do  therefore  ia  obedience  to  the  order  of  the  two  Houses  and 
with  the  highest  satisfaction  to  ourselves  transmit  to  you  the  thanks 
of  your  country  by  its  representatives  in  General  Assembly. 

Ordered  that  the  foregoing  Address  with  the  following  Message  be 
sent  the  Commons  for  concurrence. 

Me.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  : 

We  send  for  your  approbation  an  address  proposed  by  this  House 
to  be  presented  the  officers  who  distinguished  themselves  in  the  cap- 
ture of  the  British,  commanded  by  Major  Ferguson,  at  King's  Moun- 
tain. 

Resolved,  that  an  elegant  mounted  sword  be  presented  to  each  of 
the  following  officers,  that  is  to  say,  Colo.  Cleveland,  of  Wilkes 
County,  Colonel  Campbell  of  Virginia,  Colonel  Shelby  of  Sullivan 
County,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Sevier  of  Washington  County,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Hambright  of  Lincoln  County,  Major  Winston  of  Surry 
County  and  Major  Shelby  of  Sullivan  County  for  their  voluntary  and 
distinguished  services  in  the  defeat  of  Major  Ferguson  at  the  battle 
of  King's  Mountain. 

An  extraordinary  series  of  blunders,  whicli  to  this  day  liave 
remained  unexplained,  now  took  place  in  connection  with 
the  "resolution"  above-mentioned.  The  original  journal  of 
the  assembly,  as  well  as  the  printed  copy,  contains  a  message 
from  the  House  to  the  Senate,  approving  of  the  "address" 


24  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

above-mentioned;  but  nowhere  in  the  original  journal  is  rec- 
ord or  even  mention  made  of  any  action  taken  by  the  House 
upon  the  Senate  "resolution"  concerning  the  swords.  That 
no  steps  were  taken  to  procure  and  present  the  swords  men- 
tioned in  the  resolution  was  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
journal  contained  no  record  of  the  joint  concurrence  of 
House  and  Senate  in  this  "resolution" ;  and  consequently  no 
committee  was  appointed  to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the  "reso- 
lution." Shelby  and  Sevier  both  believed  that  the  swords  had 
been  voted  them  by  the  Assembly.  ^^ 

The  question  which  remains  unanswered  until  the  present 
day  is :  "Did  the  Legislature  of  ISTorth  Carolina  in  February, 
1781,  vote  the  swords  to  Shelby,  Sevier,  Winston,  and  the 
others  mentioned  in  the  'resolution'  ?"  The  original  manu- 
script of  the  "resolution"  itself,  still  preserved,  and  now  in 
the  Archives  of  the  l^orth  Carolina  Historical  Commission, 
conclusively  shows  that  the  swords  were  thus  voted.  Upon  it 
are  inscribed  the  following: — 

In  the  H  Commons  11  Feby  1781 
Concurred  with 
By  order 

Jno  Hunt  C  H  C 

and  the  endorsement: 

llth  Feby  laid  over  til  Tomorrow  morning. 

The  "resolution"  was  "laid  over"  until  February  12, 
awaiting  action  upon  the  "address" ;  and  the  "address,"  bear- 
ing the  approval  of  the  House,  was  received  by  the  Sen- 
ate on  February  13.  The  explanation  of  the  blunder  is 
probably  due  to  the  careless  reading  of  the  secretary  who 
compiled  the  journal  in  failing  to  note,  and  so,  to  record,  that 
the  "address"  and  the  "resolution"  were  two  different  things 
and  that  hoth  had  been  concurred  with  by  the  House. 

^^N.  C.  State  Records,  xvii,  696-7,  704,  support  the  statements  made  above. 
In  his  Annals  of  Tennessee,  248,  Ramsey  is  in  error  in  stating  that  the  General 
Assembly  of  North  Carolina  in  1781  "passed  a  resolution  that  a  sword  and 
pistols  should  be  presented  to  both  Shelby  and  Sevier."  As  printed  in  the 
N.  C.  State  Records,  xvii,  697,  "Lewis"  is  a  misprint  for  "Sevier." 


ISAAC    SHELBY  25 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain^  the  General 
Assembly  of  Virginia  "ordered  that  a  good  horse,  with  el&- 
gant  furniture,  and  a  sword"  be  presented  to  William  Camp- 
bell. ^^  Singularly  enough,  Virginia  like  ISTorth  Carolina 
was  inexplicably  dilatory  in  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  At  the  instance  of  friends  of  the  late  Wil- 
liam Campbell,  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  in  1809,  it 
appears,  caused  a  handsome  and  costly  sword,  purchased  in 
France,  to  be  presented  to  William  Campbell  Preston,  Wil- 
liam Campbell's  grandson. 

When  this  information  reached  Shelby  in  1809,  It  pro- 
duced, as  he  acknowledges,  "some  feelings  of  emulation  and 
solicitude,  and  a  sense  that  equal  justice  had  not  been  done 
to  all  who  participated  in  that  memorable  achievement." 
Accordingly,  he  engaged  in  private  correspondence  with  John 
Sevier  on  the  subject ;  and  years  afterwards  frankly  acknowl- 
edged that  the  object  of  the  letters  was  "to  concert  with  him 
(Sevier)  the  means  of  reminding  JSTorth  Carolina  of  her 
ancient  promise,  and  of  obtaining  those  swords  which  thirty 
years  before  had  been  voted  to  us,  as  the  honorable  memorials 
of  our  good  conduct,  and  our  country's  approbation."  Shelby 
confessed  to  his  very  natural  sense  of  the  injustice  in  the 
recognition  of  Campbell,  while  Sevier  and  himself  remained 
unrecognized.  ^* 

VII 

During  the  political  campaign  of  1812,  when  Shelby  was 
making  the  race  for  the  governorship  of  Kentucky,  false- 
hoods were  freely  circulated  against  him,  minimizing  the  part 
he  played  in  the  King's  Mountain  campaign.  To  meet  these 
charges,  an  article  signed  "ISTarrator"  appeared  in  the  Keiv- 
tucky  Reporter,  July  25,  1812,  giving  undue  credit  to  Shelby 
as  leader  of  the  King's  Mountain  campaign  and  casting  un- 
worthy aspersions  upon  the  bravery  of  Colonel  Campbell. 
The  article  was  replied  to  in  the  same  paper,  of  June  20, 

s^Summers  :  Southxoest  Virginia,  337-9. 

*^See  Governor  Shelby's  pamphlet :  "Battle  of  King's  Mountain." 


26  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

1813,  by  William  C.  Preston,  who  made  a  spirited  vindication 
of  the  charge  of  cowardice  preferred  against  his  grandfather. 
I^ine  years  later,  the  controversy  broke  forth  anew,  when 
Colonel  George  Washington  Sevier  caused  to  be  published  in 
the  Nashville  Gazette  four  private  letters  written  to  his 
father,  John  Sevier,  by  Isaac  Shelby.  In  one  of  these  let- 
ters, (January  1,  1810),  Shelby  makes  the  damaging  charge: 

It  is  a  fact  well  known,  and  for  which  he  (Campbell)  apologized 
to  me  the  day  after  the  action,  that  he  was  not  within  less  than  one 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  enemy  at  the  time  they  surrendered  to  you 
and  myself. 

This  brought  forth  from  William  C.  Preston  another  state- 
ment in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  entitled  "Colonel  Camp- 
bell and  Governor  Shelby,"  claiming  the  chief  honors  of  the 
victory  at  King's  Mountain  for  his  grandfather,  and  vehe- 
mently repelling  the  insinuation  of  cowardice  contained  in 
Shelby's  private  letter  to  Sevier,  lately  given  to  the  public  by 
G.  W.  Sevier. 

An  elaborate  survey  and  investigation  of  the  whole  ques- 
tion was  then  made  by  Shelby  and  published  as  a  pamphlet 
in  1823.^^  Extended  replies  to  this  pamphlet  were  made: 
by  William  C.  Preston  in  the  Telescope  of  Columbia,  S.  C, 
May  10,  1823,  and  by  General  John  Campbell  in  the 
Enquirer  of  Richmond,  Va.,  June  24,  1823.  This  pro- 
longed and  regrettable  controversy  had  certain  important  con- 
sequences, and  resulted  in  establishing  certain  cardinal  facts 
touching  the  conduct  of  Campbell,  Shelby  and  Sevier.  Camp- 
bell's fame  remained  entirely  undimmed  by  the  charges  of 
Shelby,  who,  clearly,  had  misinterpreted  a  remark  made  by 
Campbell  on  the  battle-field;  and  furthermore  Shelby  was 
utterly  misled,  through  the  fact  that  Campbell's  body  servant 
rode  his  horse  during  the  battle,  into  the  belief  that  Campbell 
remained  in  the  rear  during  the  action.  The  credit  for  initi- 
ating the  campaign,  it  was  clearly  established,  belonged  to 
Shelby,  who  acted  in  concert  with  Sevier.    There  is  no  reason 

^^Appendix  to  Draper's  King's  Mountain  and  Its  Heroes,  560-582. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  27 

to  doubt  that  Shelby  was  entirely  honest  in  believing  the 
charges,  however  "unworthy  and  untrue,  which  he  preferred 
against  Campbell. 

In  his  article  in  the  Telescope,  Wm.  C.  Preston  published 
an  affidavit  of  Colonel  Matthew  Willoughby,  in  which  he  dis- 
credited the  testimony  of  Moses  Shelby^  brother  of  Isaac,  who 
had  testified  in  the  Shelby  pamphlet  (1823)  that  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  Campbell  re- 
mained stationary  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  in  plain 
sight  of  him.  Colonel  Willoughby  deputed  that  "the  statement 
of  Moses  Shelby  would  not,  perhaps,  be  credited,  from  the 
character  he  bore  about  the  time  and  after  the  battle,  as  he, 
with  others,  was  engaged  in  plundering  in  the  Carolinas,  both 
Whigs  and  Tories,  and  running  the  property  so  plundered  to 
this  side  of  the  mountains." 

The  following  letter  from  Isaac  Shelby  to  John  J.  Critten- 
den, famous  Kentuckian,  who  had  been  Shelby's  Aide-de^ 
camp  on  the  Canadian  campaign  in  the  War  of  1812,  is  im- 
portant as  giving  valuable  evidence,  not  only  concerning  the 
character  of  Moses  Shelby,  but  also  in  regard  to  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain.  It  was  evidently  not  seen  by  Draper,  or 
by  Roosevelt,  who  accepts,  apparently  without  question,  the 
charges  against  Moses  Shelby. 

Danville,  June  IGth,  1823. 

My  Deae  Sie, — You  have  no  doubt  before  this  seen  the  replies  of 
both  General  Preston  and  his  son  to  my  publication.  Colonel  Preston 
proposes  to  establish  for  his  own  father  the  merit  of  planning  the 
exi)edition  which  led  to  Ferguson's  defeat. 

I  have  examined  the  subject  in  my  own  mind  in  every  point  of 
view,  and  cannot  in  the  remotest  manner  discover  wherein  General 
Preston  could  have  had  any  agency  in  this  exploit.  I  lived  nearly 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  him,  in  a  different  State,  and  had 
no  kind  of  communication  with  him  on  the  subject,  and  from  every 
recollection,  I  am  convinced  that  the  statement  I  gave  you  is  indis- 
putably true.  I  recollect,  however,  that  Major  Oloyd,  with  three  hun- 
dred men  from  the  county  of  Montgomery,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Preston,  fought  an  action  with  the  Tories  at  the  shallow  ford  of  the 
Yadkin  River,  nearly  one  hundred  miles  north  of  King's  Mountain, 
about  two  weeks  after  the  defeat  of  Ferguson.  It  has  always  been 
a  mystery  to  me  as  to  Cloyd's  destination,  or  that  of  the  enemy  whom 


28  THE  NOETH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

he  encountered.  I  have  only  understood  that  they  met  accidentally 
in  the  road,  and  that  the  enemy  was  composed  of  the  enemies  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  of  the  Bryants,  of  Kentucky,  some  of  whom 
were  killed  in  the  fight. 

If  Ferguson  was  Cloyd's  object,  he  was  too  weak  to  effect  anything, 
and  besides.  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  the  British  army,  lay  directly  in 
the  route  between  them.  My  convictions  are  so  clear  on  this  point 
I  have  no  fear  that  General  Preston  can  render  my  statement  doubt- 
ful. He  proposes,  too,  to  invalidate  the  testimony  of  Moses  Shelby. 
I  will,  for  your  own  satisfaction,  give  you  a  short  sketch  of  his  his- 
tory. Moses  was  in  his  nineteenth  year  when  he  left  his  father's 
house  to  join  the  expedition  against  Ferguson  and  had  never  before, 
to  my  knowledge,  been  more  than  forty  miles  from  home.  It  is  well 
known  that  our  march  was  too  rapid  for  a  youth  of  that  age  to  tres- 
pass in  any  manner,  the  army  having  marched  two  or  three  hundred 
miles,  and  fought  the  battle  in  twelve  days,  three  of  which  we  were 
detained  on  the  road  from  different  causes.  Moses  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  Mountain,  and  the  bone  of  one  thigh  being  fractured, 
he  could  be  carried  but  a  short  distance  from  the  battle-ground,  where 
he  lay  on  his  back  nearly  three  months,  and  was  only  able  to  ride 
out  a  few  days  before  General  Morgan  came  up  into  the  district  of 
Ninety-Six.  He  joined  Morgan  but  a  day  or  two  before  the  battle 
of  the  Cowpens,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1781.  Here  he  was  wounded 
more  severely  than  at  the  Mountain,  and  lay,  until  March  or  April, 
under  the  hands  of  a  surgeon.  When  Colonel  Clarke,  of  Georgia, 
came  on  with  his  followers  to  commence  the  siege  of  Augusta,  his 
wounds  were  still  sore  and  open,  but  at  the  warm  solicitations  of 
Clarke,  Moses  joined  the  expedition,  and  was  appointed  Captain  of 
horse.  It  is  well  known  that  the  siege  lasted  until  May  or  June  fol- 
lowing, in  which  Moses  was  actively  engaged,  and  Clarke  asserted 
to  many  that  he  made  several  charges  on  the  enemy,  who  sallied  dur- 
ing the  siege,  which  would  have  done  honor  to  Count  Pulaski. 
Moses  returned  home  shortly  after  the  siege,  and  never  crossed  the 
mountains  again  during  the  war.  The  next  year,  1782,  he,  with  other 
adventurers,  went  to  the  new  settlements,  then  forming  where  Nash- 
ville now  stands,  where  he  continued  off  and  on  until  he  married, 
two  or  three  years  afterwards.  As  the  settlements  progressed  down 
the  Cumberland,  he  was  always  among  the  foremost  of  the  pioneers. 
He  finally  settled  in  what  is  now  called  Livingston  County,  Kentucky, 
where  at  the  unanimous  solicitation  of  the  inhabitants,  he  was 
appointed  colonel  of  the  new  county,  about  the  year  1793.  He  had  the 
command  for  a  number  of  years.  And  after  the  acquisition  of  Louisi- 
ana, he  removed  to  that  territory,  and  now  resides  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  two  miles  below  New  Madrid,  covered  VTith  the 
scars  of  thirteen  deep  wounds,  received  in  defence  of  his  country,  for 
which  he  is  too  proud  to  receive  a  pension,  always  disdaining  to 
apply  for  one.    In  his  youth  he  was  of  a  warm  and  ardent  disposition, 


ISAAC    SHELBY  29 

always  ready  to  risk  his  life  for  a  friend,  and  profuse  of  his  property 
(of  which  he  had  a  considerable  inheritance),  even  to  a  fault.  It 
would  exceed  the  bounds  of  a  letter  to  give  you  a  statement  of  the 
many  hair-breadth  escapes  and  imminent  dangers  through  which 
he  passed.  Soon  after  his  marriage,  he  became  impressed  with 
religious  sentiments,  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  liberated  his  slaves, 
and,  so  far  as  I  know  and  believe,  has  always  supported  a  good 
character  in  that  county. 

It  is  possible,  while  at  the  South,  in  1780-81,  from  his  ardent  dis- 
position and  the  prevailing  excitement  of  the  times,  that  he  may  in 
some  cases  have  acted  imprudently.  The  war  between  the  Whigs  and 
Tories  was  carried  on  with  the  utmost  rancor  and  malice,  each 
endeavoring  to  do  the  greatest  injury  to  the  other. 

Colonel  Willoughby,  whose  affidavit  has  been  published,  swears  to 
no  point.  He  lived  three  hundred  miles  from  the  scene  of  action,  and 
his  information  may  have  been  very  erroneous. 

If,  however.  General  Preston  proves  apparently  anything  more,  he 
shall  be  answered. 

I  have  made  this  hasty  sketch  for  your  own  satisfaction. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  friend, 

Isaac  Shelby. 

John  J.  Crittenden.^* 

VIII 

After  their  exchanges  of  letters  in  1810,  Shelby  and  Sevier, 
throwing  conventional  modesty  to  the  winds,  prepared  a  joint 
memorial  to  the  General  Assembly  of  IsTorth  Carolina.  This 
was  presented  by  the  Senator  from  Surry,  Joseph  Winston,  on 
December  15,  1812,  of  which  the  following  record  is  found : 

Mr.  Winston  presented  the  memorial  of  Issac  (sic)  Shelby  and 
John  Sevier,  setting  forth  that  in  consideration  of  public  services 
rendered  during  our  revolutionary  war,  and  particularly  for  their 
conduct  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  North  Carolina,  in  the  year  1781,  did  vote  each  of  the  memorialists 
an  elegant  sword  and  pair  of  pistols,  which  they  have  not  heretofore 
applied  for  or  received ;  and  they  pray  that  this  testimonial  of  the 
approbation  of  the  state  for  their  conduct  be  now  complied  with. 
This  memorial  being  read,  was  referred  to  the  committee  of  Proposi- 
tions and  Grievances,  and  sent  to  the  House  of  Commons.'^ 

The  matter  was  later  referred  to  a  special  committee  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Porter  and  W.  W.  Jones  on  the  part  of  the 


3«Mrs.  C.  Coleman  :  The  Life  of  John  J.  Crittenden,  v,  56-8   (1871). 
arsenate  Journal,  1812. 


30  THE    NORTH    CAKOLHSTA    BOOKLET 

House,  and  Messrs.  Atkinson  and  Graston  on  the  part  of  the 
Senate.  On  December  22,  1812,  Mr.  Gaston  submitted  an 
extended  report  after  investigation,  in  wbicli  it  is  stated: 

Your  committee  find,  upon  an  examination  of  the  journal  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  the  proposed  address  obtained  the  approba- 
tion and  concurrence  of  the  house ;  but  they  do  not  find  any  determi- 
nation relative  to  the  second  resolution  of  the  Senate,  nor  any  minute 
that  such  resolution  had  been  received  by  them.  Your  committee, 
however,  have  been  informed,  and  so  believe,  that  the  House  of  Com- 
mons did  concur  with  the  Senate  in  this  latter  resolution,  as  well  as 
in  that  for  presenting  to  their  patriots  and  heroes  the  thanks  of  the 
Legislature.^^ 

In  order  to  pay  what  Gaston  describes  as  "the  long  pro- 
crastinated debt  of  gTatitude  and  honor,"  the  House  and  Sen- 
ate unanimously  passed  the  following : — 

Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  procure 
three  elegant  swords,  such  as  in  his  estimation  is  (sic)  not  unworthy 
of  North  Carolina  to  bestow,  on  those  who  have  distinguished  claims 
on  the  gratitude  of  her  citizens ;  and  that  he  cause  them  severally  to 
be  presented,  in  the  name  of  this  State,  to  General  Isaac  Shelby,  of 
Kentucky,  General  John  Sevier  of  Tennessee,  and  Colonel  Joseph 
Winston  of  this  State,  the  three  surviving  chiefs  of  the  gallant  band 
who  fought  and  conquered  at  King's  Mountain,  on  the  memorable  7th 
of  October,  1780.=» 

In  carrying  out  the  resolution,  Governor  William  Haw- 
kins enlisted  the  services  of  the  Hon.  James  Turner,  at  that 
time  representing  l!^orth  Carolina  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate. At  the  instance  of  Mr.  Turner,  the  swords  were  pur- 
chased in  jSTew  York  by  Mr.  Robert  Walker  of  Petersburg, 
assisted  by  Colonel  Swift.  The  swords  thus  procured,  accord- 
ing to  instruction,  were  "in  point  of  elegance  inferior  to  none 
that  can  be  procured."  The  sword  presented  to  Shelby,  with 
which  the  others  were  identical  save  for  name,  bore  upon 


s^Senate  Journal.  It  seems  extraordinary  that  a  man  of  Gaston's  legislative 
experience  should  have  omitted  to  examine  the  original  manuscript  of  the  Sen- 
ate resolution  of  February  11,  1781,  which  would  have  resolved  all  his  doubts. 

^Ht  is  a  source  of  lasting  regret  that  another  regrettable  oversight  was  made 
at  this  time.  A  fourth  leader  in  the  King's  Mountain  campaign  whose  name 
was  included  in  the  original  resolution,  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hambright,  of 
Lincoln  County,  who  survived  until  March,  1817.  Grave  injustice  was  done, 
in  that  no  sword  was  presented  to  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hambright  in   1813. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  31 

one  side  of  the  hilt  the  inscription:  "King's  Mountain — Oc- 
tober 7,  1Y80/'  upon  the  other:  "State  of  ITorth  Carolina  to 
Colonel  Isaac  Shelby."  Writing  to  Governor  Hawkins  from 
Warren  County  on  September  19,  1813,  the  Hon.  James  Tur- 
ner says  concerning  these  swords :  "The  one  for  Col.  Shelby 
was  forwarded  through  the  politeness  if  Mr.  Clay,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  one  for  Col. 
Savier  (sic)  was  delivered  to  him  by  myself  (he  being  in 
Washington).  The  one  for  Col.  Winston  was  forwarded  to 
him  by  Mr.  Yancey,  one  of  the  members  of  Congress  from 
this  State.  The  letters  of  the  Grentlemen  was  (sic)  delivered 
and  forwarded  by  the  same  Gentlemen  who  took  charge  of 
the  swords."*^ 

The  following  letter,  just  referred  to,  was  sent  to  Isaac 
Shelby,  then  Governor  of  Kentucky,  by  Governor  William 
Hawkins  of  l^orth  Carolina.*^ 

Executive  Office,  N.  C. 

Raleigh  17th,  July  1813. 

SiK,  In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State  passed  at  their  last  Session  I  have  the  honor  of  tendering 
you  the  sword  which  this  letter  accompanies  as  a  testimony  of  the 
distinguished  claim  you  have  on  the  gratitude  of  the  State  for  your 
gallantry  in  achieving  with  your  brothers  in  arms  the  glorious  victory 
over  the  British  forces  commanded  by  Colo.  Ferguson  at  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain  on  the  memorable  7th  of  October  1780.  This  tribute 
of  respect  though  bestowed  at  a  protracted  period,  will  not  be  con- 
sidered the  less  honorable  on  that  account  when  you  are  informed 
that  it  is  in  unison  with  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  passed 
in  the  year  1781,  which  from  some  cause  not  well  ascertained,  it  is  to 
be  regretted  was  not  complied  with. 

Permit  me  Sir,  to  make  you  an  expression  of  the  high  gratification 
felt  by  me  at  being  the  favored  instrument  to  present  to  you  in  the 
name  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  this  testimonial  of  gratitude — 
this  meed  of  valour,  and  to  remark,  that  contending  as  we  are  at  the 
present  time  with  the  same  foe  for  our  just  rights  the  pleasing  hope 
may  be  entertained  that  the  valorous  deeds  of  the  heroes  of  our 


^Governor  Hawkins'  Letter  Book,  1812-3,  429.  For  assistance  in  making 
these  researches,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  Secretary  of  the  N.  C. 
Historical  Commission. 

*iAn  exact  transcript  of  the  same  letter  was  likewise  transmitted  to  General 
John  Sevier,  of  Tennessee,  and  Colonel  Joseph  Winston,  of  North  Carolina. 
Cf.  Ramsey's  Annals  of  Tennessee,  pp.  248-254,  and  "The  Life  and  Times  of 
Major  Joseph  Winston,"  by  G.  T.  Winston  (Guilford  Battleground  Company, 
1895). 


32  THE    NOKTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

Revolution  will  animate  the  Soldier  of  the  existing  War  and  nerve 
his  arm  in  laudable  emulation  to  like  achievements. 

I  beg  you  to  accept  an  assurance  of  the  great  consideration  and 
respect  with  which, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Sir 

Your  obedient  Servent 

William  Hawkins.*^ 

This  recognition  on  tlie  part  of  l^ortli  Carolina,  iitly 
enougli,  came  with  dramatic  emphasis  at  a  moment  of  crisis 
in  the  career  of  Grovemor  Shelby  and  of  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky. In  his  memorable  oration^  delivered  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  on  August  15,  1826,  the  Hon.  William  Taylor 
Barry  thus  described  the  event : 

Colonel  Shelby  was  at  his  residence  in  Lincoln  County,  enjoying  in 
affluence,  the  sweets  of  domestic  life,  when  he  was  again  called  upon 
to  assume  the  helm  of  State.  At  the  advanced  age  of  63,  had  he 
wanted  an  apology,  this  was  an  ample  one ;  but  his  mind  was  char- 
acterized by  constancy  and  invincible  firmness.  He  saw  his  beloved 
country,  for  whose  independence  he  had  fought  in  his  youth,  again 
in  imminent  danger,  assailed  by  the  same  inveterate  foe.  The  fire 
of  patriotism  rekindled  in  his  bosom,  he  did  not  hesitate,  but  aban- 
doning the  allurements  of  ease,  and  listening  only  to  the  voice  of 
honor,  we  see  him  again  with  youthful  ardour,  entering  upon  the 
executive  duties,  boldly  hazarding  his  reputation  in  the  contingencies 
of  a  war,  the  glorious  results  of  which  were  yet  in  the  womb  of  time. 
The  volunteers  from  Kentucky  who  had  gone  forth  to  battle,  notwith- 
standing the  bravery  and  good  conduct  of  their  officers,  had  met  with 
sad  reverses.  The  di-eadful  defeats  at  the  River  Raisin,  and  the 
Rapids  of  the  Miami,  had  deprived  our  State  of  many  gallant  and 
patriotic  citizens,  and  filled  the  country  with  mourning ;  the  cruelties 
practised  by  the  savage  allies  of  England,  and  countenanced  by  the 
British  officers,  was  the  cause  of  deep  and  powerful  excitement ;  the 
public  indignation  was  aroused  and  our  militia,  anxious  to  revenge 
their  slaughtered  countrymen,  were  impatient  to  be  led  to  battle. 
Shelby  thought  the  time  had  arrived  to  put  an  end  to  the  contest  in 
that  quarter,  and  resolved  to  take  the  field  in  person.  As  he  was 
preparing  for  the  campaign,  a  happy  incident  occurred.  The  deliv- 
ery of  the  sword  voted  him  by  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  in 
1781,  had,  from  some  cause,  been  delayed,  and  was  handed  to  him 


*2From  the  Letter  Book  of  Governor  William  Hawkins,  1812-1813,  pp.  291-2. 
Collections  of  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission.  For  a  copy  of  this 
letter  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  Secretary  of  the  N.  C.  Historical 
Commission.  The  letter  to  General  Sevier,  the  duplicate  of  the  present  letter, 
is  printed  in  Ramsey's  Annals  of  Tennessee,  249. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  33 

just  in  time  to  be  used  in  acquiring  fresh  laurels.  Proud  emblem  of 
victory — glorious  remembrancer  of  tbe  gallantry  and  heroism  of  two 
wars.^ 

In  the  marcli  to  Lake  Erie  and  Canada^  tlie  famous  hero  of 
tlie  Revolution  not  without  deep  emotions  of  pride  and  reli- 
gious fervor,  "wore  upon  his  thigh  a  sword  just  presented  to 
him  by  Henry  Clay,  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  ]S[orth  Caro- 
lina, in  testimony  of  appreciation  of  his  services  in  the  old 
war  for  independence."** 

With  the  sword  was  tendered  the  following  letter  to  Shelby 

from  Henry  Clay: 

Lexington,  22d  August,  1813. 
My  dear  Sir, — I  have  seen  by  the  public  prints  that  you  intend  lead- 
ing a  detachment  from  this  state.  As  you  will  want  a  sword,  I  have 
the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  I  am  charged  by  Governor  Turner 
and  Mr.  Macon  with  delivering  to  you  that  which  the  State  of  North 
Carolina  voted  you  in  testimony  of  the  sense  it  entertained  of  your 
conduct  at  King's  Mountain.  I  would  take  it  with  me  to  Frankfort, 
in  order  that  I  might  personally  execute  the  commission  and  at  the 
same  time  have  the  gratification  of  seeing  you,  if  I  were  not  excess- 
ively oppressed  with  fatigue.  I  shall  not  fail,  however,  to  avail 
myself  of  the  first  safe  conveyance,  and  if  any  should  offer  to  you, 
I  will  thank  you  to  inform  me.  May  it  acquire  additional  lustre  in 
the  patriotic  and  hazardous  enterprise  in  which  you  are  embarking ! 

Your  friend, 

H.  Clay. 

The  bearer  of  the  letter  and  the  sword  was  a  common  friend, 
William  T.  Barry,  quoted  above,  who  delivered  them  to  Gov- 
ernor Shelby  at  Frankfort. 

The  venerable  soldier,  with  his  characteristic  energy  once 
again  taking  the  field  in  defense  of  the  liberties  of  his  country, 
in  acknowledgment  of  the  gift  of  !N^orth  Carolina  wrote  the 
following  interesting  letter,  hitherto  unpublished,  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  N^orth  Carolina. 


^"On  the  Death  of  Adams,  Jefferson  and  Sheloy,"  in  Year  Book,  1913,  of 
Kentucky  Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  Barry  had  been  Secretary  and  Aide- 
de-Camp  to  General  Shelby  on  the  expedition  to  Canada  in  1813 ;  and  after- 
wards became  very  distinguished  in  the  public  life  of  Kentucky.  At  one  time 
he  was  Postmaster  General  in  President  Jackson's  cabinet. 

**B.  J.  Lossing :  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  1812,  544-5. 

3 


34  THE    NORTH    CAEOLHSTA    BOOKLET 

Government  House  Frankfort  Kentucky. 
August  26th,  1813. 
Sib,  On  the  23d  inst.  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter  of 
the  17th  ulto.  tendering  to  me,  a  Sword  vphich  accompanied  it, 
bestowed  by  North  Carolina  as  a  testimony  of  the  flattering  senti- 
ments which  she  entertained  in  relation  to  my  conduct  in  the  affair  of 
the  7th  of  October  1780  on  King's  Mountain. 

Engaged  as  my  beloved  country  then  was  in  a  struggle  for  every 
thing  dear  to  man,  she  had  a  right  to  expect  the  zealous  exertions 
of  her  citizens  in  her  behalf.  Devoted  to  the  cause  of  my  country, 
impelled  by  a  high  sense  of  the  obligations,  I  owed  her,  and  by  an 
utter  aversion  to  the  tyranny  wliich  was  endeavouring  to  oppress 
her,  I  freely  participated  in  those  exertions  which  lead  to,  &  that 
conflict  which  terminated  so  favorable  to  our  arms,  &  evidently  gave 
a  favorable  turn  to  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  relation  to  wliich 
the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  have  been  pleased  to  express  them- 
selves in  a  manner  the  most  flattering  to  my  feelings. 

If  the  freeborn  sons  of  America  wanted  any  stimulus  to  draw  them 
forth  in  defence  of  her  rights,  other  than  a  conviction  that  upon 
their  exertions  depended  the  continuance  of  those  rights — it  might  be 
found  in  the  heartfelt  satisfaction  derived  from  the  consolation  of 
having  meritted  and  received  the  applause  of  a  grateful  [country]  for 
the  toils  and  dangers  encountered  in  her  behalf. 

Having  lived  ten  years  of  the  happiest  part  of  my  life  in  North 
Carolina  and  having  received  repeated  marks  of  the  partiality  of  my 
fellow  citizens  in  that  Government  during  my  residence  amongst  them, 
I  have  ever  entertained  the  warmest  feelings  of  fraternal  affection, 
and  good  will  for  them.     And  I  now  accept  with  veneration  &  respect 
this  honorable  pledge  of  a  continuance  of  their  affection. 
With  considerations  of  high  respect  and  Esteem 
I  have  the  honor  to  be 
Most  respectfully 

Your   Ob    Servant 

Isaac  Shelby. 
His  Excellency 

William  Hawkins 

Governor  of  North  Carolina.*^ 


■isprom  the  Letter  Book  of  Governor  William  Hawkins,  1812-3,  pp.  414-5. 
Collections  of  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission.  For  this  copy  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  Secretary  of  the  N.  C.  Historical  Commission. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  35 


IX 


The  battle  of  King's  Mountain  was  decisive  in  its  effect — 
shattering  the  plans  of  Comwallis  which  till  then  appeared 
certain  of  success^  and  putting  a  full  stop  to  the  invasion  of 
IsTorth  Carolina^  then  well  under  way.  Cornwallis  abandoned 
his  prepared  campaign  and  left  the  State.  The  initiative  of 
the  borderers,  the  loyalty  of  the  militia^,  the  energy  of  the 
pursuit,  the  perfection  of  the  surprise,  all  reinforced  by 
ideal  tactics  to  meet  the  given  situation,  were  the  controlling 
factors  in  this  overwhelming  victory,  and  pivotal  contest  of 
the  Revolution.  The  pioneers  of  the  Old  Southwest' — the 
independent  and  aggressive  yeomanry  of  ITorth  Carolina, 
Virginia,  and  South  Carolina — had  risen  in  their  might; 
and  without  the  authority  of  blundering  State  governments, 
had  created  an  army  of  frontiersmen,  Indian  fighters,  and 
big  game  hunters  which  found  no  parallel  or  equal  on  the 
continent  since  the  battle  of  the  Great  Kanawha.* 

The  survey  of  the  situation  as  given  by  Shelby  is  interest- 
ing as  coming  from  a  participant  in  the  events : 

This  battle  happened  at  the  most  gloomy  and  critical  period  of 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  was  the  first  link  in  the  great  chain  of 
events  in  the  South  that  established  the  independence  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  achieved  by  raw  and  undisciplined  riflemen  without 
any  authority  from  the  Government  under  which  they  lived.  It  com- 
pletely dispirited  the  Tories  and  so  much  alarmed  Lord  Cornwallis, 
who  then  lay  at  Charlottstown  with  the  British  grand  army  that  on 
being  informed  of  Ferguson's  total  defeat  and  overthrow  by  the 
riflemen  from  the  west,  and  that  they  were  bearing  down  upon  him, 
three  thousand  strong,  he  ordered  an  immediate  retreat,  marched  all 
night  in  the  utmost  confusion  and  retrograded  as  far  back  as  Winns- 
borough  seventy  or  eighty  miles,  from  whence  he  did  not  attempt  to 
advance  until  reinforced  by  General  Leslie  from  the  Chesapeake  with 
2,000  men,  three  months  afterward.  In  the  meantime  the  militia  of 
North  Carolina  assembled  in  considerable  force  at  New  Providence 
on  the  borders  of  South  Carolina  under  General  Davidson.  (General 
Smallwood  with  General  Morgan's  light  corps,  and  the  Maryland  line 


♦Narratives  of  the  King's  Mountain  campaign,  which  have  proved  of  value  in 
this   research,   are  the  accounts  of  General   .Joseph  Graham    (Southern  Literary 
Messenger.    September    1845),    Geneal    William    Lenoir    (Wheeler's   Sketches    of 
North    Carolina,    ii,    105-108)    and    Captain    David    Vance    (Greensboro,    N.    C 
edited  by  D.  L.  Schenck,  1891). 


36  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

advanced  to  the  same  point.  General  Gates  with  the  shattered 
remains  of  his  army  collected  at  Hillsborough  also  came  up  and  the 
new  levies  ( ? )  from  Virginia  under  General  Stephens  of  1,000  men 
came  forward.  At  the  same  time,  (to  wit)  the  second  or  third  of 
December,  General  Green  came  up  and  took  the  command,  and  thus 
was  dispelled  the  dismal  gloom  which  had  pervaded  the  Southern 
States. 

Following  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  the  patriot  force 
hanged  nine  Tory  prisoners.  This  act  has  been  severely  con- 
demned ;  but  it  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  nothing  short 
of  such  drastic  action  would  have  had  a  decisively  deterrent 
effect  upon  future  Tory  murderings  and  depredations.  Shel- 
by's own  account  of  this  seemingly  inexcusable  and  ruthless 
act  is  quoted  here^  both  as  a  picture  of  the  times  and  as  a 
recital  of  Shelby's  own  part  in  the  matter : 

The  prisoners  were  marched  back  on  the  trail  that  the  army  had 
advanced  upon,  as  well  to  join  the  men  who  were  left  behind  with 
weak  horses  and  on  foot,  as  to  avoid  Lord  Comwallis  who  they  be- 
lieved to  be  only  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  the  North  (incoherent)  after 
meeting  the  footmen  and  took  a  circuitous  route  towards  the  Moun- 
tains by  Gilbert  town,  where  we  met  an  American  officer  paroled 
from  Ninety  six  only  the  day  before,  who  informed,  that  he  had  seen 
eleven  American  citizens  hung  at  that  place  within  a  few  days  past, 
merely  for  their  attachment  to  the  cause  of  their  country.  This  very 
much  exasperated  the  American  officers,  at  the  same  time  a  Repre- 
sentative from  Assembly  which  just  set  at  Hillsborough  came  into 
camp  and  had  with  him  the  manuscript  of  a  law,  authorizing  two  jus- 
tices within  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  to  cause  to  be  apprehended 
any  citizen  or  loyalist  who  might  be  found  in  arms  against  his 
country,  and  if  found  guilty  of  treason  to  order  him  to  immediate 
execution  without  any  pleading  in  the  case.  The  army  with  the 
prisoners  were  by  this  time  in  Rutherford  County  in  North  Carolina, 
a  Sheriff  of  which,  as  well  as  several  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  the 
said  County,  were  also  in  camp.  Our  Commander  called  a  Council 
of  officers  to  deliberate  on  the  subject,  who  determined  unanimously  to 
try  several  of  the  prisoners  under  the  aforesaid  act  of  Assembly. 
The  8th  day  after  the  action  they  commenced  trying  them  early  in 
the  morning  beginning  with  the  most  atrocious  offender  first  who  had 
committed  murder  deliberately  in  cold  blood,  and  who  had  otherwise 
murdered  and  destroyed  the  families  of  the  Whigs,  burned  down 
houses,  etc.,  and  committed  the  most  atrocious  crimes.  They  con- 
tinued to  try  them  until  they  had  condemned  36  to  be  hung,  and  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  night  following  commenced  hanging  them,  after  they 


ISAAC    SHELBY  3T 

had  hung  nine  of  them,  three  at  a  time,  and  the  fourth  parcel  of 
them  was  just  about  to  be  turned  ofC  the  scaffold  it  was  agreed  on 
by  Sevier,  Cleveland  and  Shelby  upon  a  motion  of  the  latter,  that  they 
would  put  a  stop  to  any  further  execution,  and  addressed  Campbell  on 
the  subject,  who  readily  came  into  their  views,  and  released  the 
three  men  that  were  then  under  the  gallows  to  be  executed,  one  of 
whom  informed  that  Tarlton  would  be  upon  us  next  morning,  that  a 
woman  had  come  into  camp  in  the  evening,  and  gave  the  information 
to  the  British  officers,  who  communicated  it  to  the  Tories.  The 
Americans  immediately  all  mounted  their  horses,  and  were  ready  to 
march  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  for  the  night  was 
excessively  dark ;  as  soon  as  they  could  see  the  way  they  started 
directly  toward  the  mountains,  got  into  level  valley  that  lead  imme- 
diately toward  the  North.  We  had  not  marched  a  mile  before 
DePeyster  rode  up  to  Col.  Shelby  and  enquired  "which  way  was  that 
they  were  going,"  to  which  the  Col.  replied,  that  they  were  going  up 
into  their  native  element,  the  mountains.  When  DePeyster  cried  out, 
"you  smell  a  rat,"  Shelby  replied  that  they  knew  all  about  it.  It 
commenced  raining  just  after  daylight,  and  was  I  believe,  the  wettest 
day  I  have  even  seen  since ;  so  heavy  was  the  rain  that  many  parts 
of  the  valley  became  waist  deep.  The  Americans  continued  their 
march  until  two  o'clock  that  night,  although  it  was  dark  as  pitch,  and 
the  road  could  be  seen  by  the  continued  flashes  of  lightning,  when 
they  came  to  the  Catawba  River  which  they  supposed  to  be  rising 
very  fast  from  the  quantity  of  rain  that  had  fallen.  The  prisoners 
were  forced  into  the  water  in  a  column  of  six:  deep  as  they  usually 
marched,  and  ordered  to  hold  fast  to  each  other  as  the  current  was 
very  strong.  Our  march  that  day  and  night  was  36  miles  and  the 
river  next  morning  had  risen  10  feet.  This  escape  excited  feelings  of 
the  deepest  gratitude  in  the  breasts  of  the  Americans,  after  they  had 
reached  a  place  of  safety.  It  was  a  well  known  fact  to  all  men  who 
lived  in  that  day,  that  the  execution  of  these  nine  prisoners,  put  a 
stop  to  the  hanging  of  any  more  American  citizens  at  Camden  and 
Ninety-six,  where  several  hundred  persons  had  been  previously 
executed  at  those  two  places,  purely  for  their  attachment  to  the 
Ajnerican  cause.  The  prisoners  taken  at  King's  Mountain  were  given 
up  by  the  Mountaineers  to  the  militia  assembled  at  Moravian  Town 
to  receive  them,  and  afterwards  marched  to  Salisbury  where  they 
were  crowded  into  the  jail  and  other  houses  prepared  to  receive 
them. 

]S[o  account  with  any  pretensions,  either  to  accuracy  or 
consecutiveness,  has  ever  been  given  of  the  relation  of  Shelby, 
Sevier  and  the  western  leaders,  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolu- 
tion subsequent  to  the  Battle  of  King's  Mountain,  The  his- 
tories teem  with  inaccuracies  and  inexplicable  confusions  of 


38  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

names  and  dates.  The  recent  discovery  of  letters  and  docu- 
ments, bearing  on  this  period,  make  it  possible  for  me  to  give 
for  the  first  time,  I  believe,  a  reliable  and  consistent  account 
of  the  role  played  by  Shelby  and  some  of  the  other  frontier 
leaders  in  the  closing  years  of  the  Revolution. 

There  is  an  interesting  revelation  of  vanity  in  Shelby's 
Autobiography,,  in  which  he  claims  the  credit,  usually 
ascribed  to  General  Nathaniel  Greene,  for  the  plan  of  cam- 
paign which  eventuated  in  Morgan's  defeat  of  Tarleton. 
This  passage  gives  us  an  account  also  of  Shelby's  movements, 
following  the  delivery  of  the  prisoners  taken  at  King's  Moun- 
tain to  the  authorities  at  Salem: 

When  the  British  had  gotten  possession  of  the  posts  of  Ninety  Six 
and  Augusta,  they  had  an  open  communication  with  the  Southern 
Indians,  and  furnished  them  with  arms  and  ammunition  by  which 
means  the  Cherokees  were  enabled  to  wage  a  constant  war  against 
the  new  settlements  forming  on  the  western  waters  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Col.  Shelby  had  long  viewed  this  evil  without  being  able  to 
devise  any  means  to  prevent  it.  But  after  the  prisoners  taken  at 
King's  Mountain  were  disposed  of  at  Moravian  town,  he  set  out  from 
there  to  go  to  Headquarters,  to  solicit  the  Commander-in-Chief  to 
send  Gen.  Morgan  with  his  light  troops  into  the  upper  country,  to 
subdue  those  two  posts.  He  knew  from  his  own  knowledge  that 
Morgan  would  be  strongly  reinforced  by  the  mountain  men,  and 
many  others  who  had  left  their  homes  in  the  upper  parts  of  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina  rather  than  submit  to  the  enemy.  He  found 
headquarters  at  a  place  called  New  Providence  on  the  border  of 
South  Carolina,  and  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  Smallwood. 
He  first  communicated  the  object  of  his  visit  to  camp  to  Gen.  Morgan 
who  seemed  highly  pleased  and  gratified  at  the  suggestions  made  to 
him,  readily  entered  into  his  views,  saw  at  once  the  probable  chance 
of  success  and  said  it  was  just  what  he  had  wanted,  a  separate 
command.  He  also  made  these  suggestions  to  Gen.  Smallwood,  think- 
ing he  might  possibly  order  Morgan  on  but  although  he  highly  ap- 
proved the  measure,  he  would  not  take  upon  himself  the  responsi- 
bility, as  Gen.  Gates  would  be  in  himself  in  a  few  days,  and  advised 
him  to  wait  his  arrival.  He  waited  in  camp  upwards  of  a  fortnight, 
when  it  was  announced  that  Gen.  Gates  was  near  at  hand.  He  set 
out  next  morning  with  six  or  eight  officers  to  go  to  him  and  meet  him 
about  seven  miles  from  camp  vpith  the  remains  of  his  army  col- 
lected at  Hillsborough.  On  Gates'  arrival  at  camp  he  invited  Shelby 
to  dine  with  him  the  next  day.  He  was  proud  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  his  communications,  and  went  before  the  usual  hour. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  39 

Gen.  Gates  gave  him  a  cordial  reception  and  invited  him  in.  Col. 
Shelby  replied  that  he  had  some  important  communications  to  make 
to  him,  that  he  had  come  early  for  that  purpose,  and  would  be  glad 
if  he  would  afford  him  an  opportunity  to  do  so.  Gates  pointing  to  a 
log  a  few  rods  from  his  door  proposed  to  sit  down  on  it.  Before  he 
heard  all  that  Shelby  had  to  say,  he  saw  the  practicability  and 
importance  of  the  measure  proposed  and  observed,  that  if  the  board 
of  war  of  North  Carolina  then  sitting  at  Charlottstown  would  aid 
him  with  five  hundred  militia,  he  would  send  Morgan  up  with  his 
light  corps  immediately.  Gen.  Gates  was  accordingly  on  horseback 
next  morning  before  sunrise,  and  as  he  passed  with  his  guards  by 
Davidson's  marked  where  Shelby  lodged ;  he  joined  him,  and  they 
arrived  early  at  Charlotte.  Gates  opened  the  subject  to  the  board 
of  war — which  consisted  of  Alexander  Martin  alone  (who  was  then 
or  shortly  after  Governor  of  the  State)  who  very  soon  saw  the 
propriety  of  the  measure  and  requested  Shelby  to  stay  until  next 
morning,  and  take  some  communications  to  the  Northern  counties  of 
the  State,  which  was  on  his  way  home  where  the  men  must  be  raised, 
which  he  did ;  for  the  counties  around  Charlotte  had  been  drained  to 
form  the  camp  at  New  Providence  which  then  opposed  the  enemy. 
Col.  Shelby  set  out  the  next  morning,  from  Charlotte,  which  was 
about  the  2d  or  3d  of  December,  1780,  and  met  Gen.  Green  about 
three  miles  from  town,  going  forward  to  take  command  of  the 
Southern  army.  Shelby  had  no  idea  that  Tarlton,  or  any  force  would 
be  sent  up  to  oppose  Morgan  in  that  distant  upper  county,  he  only 
contemplated  the  reduction  of  the  two  posts.  Ninety  Six  and  Augusta. 
And  if  Gen.  Green  is  entitled  to  any  credit  for  the  defeat  of  Tarlton 
by  Morgan,  it  is  merely  that  he  permitted  the  enterprise  to  go  on 
which  led  to  that  event,  and  which  had  been  planned  and  ordered  by 
Gen.  Gates  (on  the  suggestion  of  Shelby  before  he  was  superseded, 
and  before  Green  took  the  command)  Col.  Shelby  was  at  a  loss  to 
determine  why  so  much  time  had  elapsed  from  Green's  taking  the 
command  on  the  17th  of  January  unless  it  was  owing  to  the  tardi- 
ness of  the  militia  orders  by  the  board  of  war  as  before  stated,  to 
John  Morgan,  or  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions.  For  he  can  say  of  his 
own  knowledge  that  there  was  never  more  than  two  days  provisions 
at  any  one  time  while  he  stayed  in  the  camp  near  three  weeks ;  the 
country  at  that  time  being  drained  of  supplies. 

X 

The  value  which  was  universally  set  upon  the  services  of 
the  over-mountain  men  and  their  leaders,  Shelby  and  Sevier, 
following  the  overwhelming  victory  of  King's  Mountain  is 
fully  attested  in  documents  of  the  period.     The  following 


40  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

letter,  taken  in  conjunction  witli  the  above-quoted  passage 
from  Shelby's  Autobiography,  is  significant : 

Camp  New  Providence,  23d  November,  1780. 

Sir  :  Colo.  Shelby  have  been  in  camp  for  some  time,  waiting  to  lend 
his  Aid,  should  anything  go  on  offensive,  but  apprehending  not  much 
will  be  done  this  winter.  And  his  domestick  business  call  for  him, 
and  he  having  no  command,  is  now  on  his  way  home.  I  have  been 
speaking  to  him  to  raise  about  three  hundred  good  rifle  men  this 
winter  for  the  campaign,  &  join  me  early  in  the  spring.  He  says 
he  would  willingly  undertake  it,  provided  he  had  a  sanction  for  it. 
How  far  the  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  would  be  disposed  to 
countenance  such  a  thing  I  don't  know,  but  I  assure  you  that  a 
Number  of  such  men  would  be  a  valuable  Corps  when  annex'd  to  the 
Light  Infantry,  which  must  be  made  equal  if  not  superior  to  Tarlton's 
Legion  before  this  country  can  be  defended.  If  you  think  proper  to 
countenance  a  matter  of  this  kind,  you'll  be  kind  enough  to  signify 
your  approbation  to  Colo.  Shelby  and  point  out  the  mode. 

I  have  the  Honor  to  be,  with  much 

Esteem,  your  obedt.  servt. 

Danl,  Morgan. 
The  Honble.  M.  Genl.  Gates. 

The  greatest  contemporary  tribute  to  the  leaders  of  the 
King's  Mountain  campaign,  showing  the  high  estimation  in 
which  their  services  were  held  and  the  need  generally  felt  for 
the  assistance  to  the  American  cause  they  could  render,  is 
found  in  the  following  action  taken  by  the  I^Torth  Carolina 
Assembly  at  Halifax  on  February  13,  1781 : 

Resolved,  That  Colonel  Isaac  Shelby  of  Sullivan  County  and  John 
Sevier,  Esqr.,  of  Washington  County,  be  informed  by  this  Resolve 
being  communicated  to  them  that  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State 
are  feelingly  impressed  with  the  very  generous  and  patriotic  ser- 
vices rendered  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Counties,  to  which  their 
influence  had  in  great  degree  contributed  and  earnestly  urge  that 
they  would  press  a  continuance  of  the  same  active  exertion ;  that  the 
State  of  the  Country  is  such  as  to  call  forth  the  utmost  powers  im- 
mediately in  order  to  preserve  its  freedom  and  Independence,  and 
that  we  may  by  the  assistance  of  our  friends  in  Virginia,  as  they 
have  occasionally  by  us,  as  emergencies  induced  them,  availed  of  it, 
we  suggest  our  wishes  that  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell  and  Colonel 
William  Preston  of  Virginia,  thro'  the  Gentlemen  mentioned,  may  be 
informed   that   their   spirited   conduct   heretofore   in    favor    of   the 


ISAAC    SHELBY  41 

Southern  States  affords  us  the  most  perfect  assurance  that  they  will 
make  every  active  and  effectual  exertion  at  the  present  critical 
moment  in  favor  of  this  State. 

At  this  same  time,  Ex-Governor  Richard  Caswell,  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  of  Isaac  Shelby,  "defpicted  to  him  the 
melancholy  circumstances  of  his  own  State.  The  Tories 
were  in  motion  all  over  North  Carolina,  and  their  footsteps 
were  marked  with  bloody  and  their  path  was  indicated  by  the 
most  desolating  devastations.  Governor  Caswell  conjured 
him  to  turn  to  the  relief  of  his  distressed  country."^®  The 
Continental  Congress,  through  their  laudatory  resolution  of 
l^ovember  15,  1Y80,  and  the  general  officers  of  the  American 
army,  including  Gates,  Greene  and  Morgan,  having  ascer- 
tained the  military  value  of  the  fighting  frontiersmen,  the 
inevitable  result  was  that  General  Greene,  on  January  30, 
1781,  wrote  to  "the  famous  Colonel  William  Campbell,"  re- 
minding him  of  the  glory  he  had  already  acquired,  and  urging 
him  '^to  bring,  without  loss  of  time,  a  thousand  good  volun- 
teers from  over  the  mountains. "^''^  The  difficulties  which  the 
frontiersmen  were  experiencing  with  the  Indians  at  this 
period,  in  a  succession  of  campaigns,  put  out  of  the  question 
the  sending  of  any  large  force  to  assist  Greene  in  his  ISTorth 
Carolina  campaign.  'No  sooner  had  Sevier  returned  from 
the  King's  Mountain  campaign  than  he  was  called  upon  to 
lead  three  hundred  horsemen  from  Watauga,  in  conjunction 
with  three  hundred  from  Sullivan  County,  and  one  hundred 
from  Washington  County,  Virginia — the  whole  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell,  County-Lieutenant  of 
Washington  County,  against  the  Cherokees.  Upon  the  return 
of  Colonel  Campbell  from  this  expedition,  which  was  en- 
tirely successful,  the  first  of  January,  1781,  he  immediately 
communicated  with  General  ^Nathaniel  Greene,  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Southern  Department,  who  accordingly,  on 
February    6,    1781,    appointed   Arthur    Campbell,    William 

''^Haywood  :  Civil  and  Political  History  of  Tennessee.  In  slavishly  following 
Haywood,  Ramsey  (p.  251)  falls  into  the  error  of  stating  that  Caswell,  instead 
of  Abner  Nash,  was  Governor  of  North  Carolina  in  1781. 

^"Draper :  King's  Mountain  and  its  Heroes,  391 ;  Summers :  South  West  Vir- 
ginia, 327-360  passim. 


42  THE    NORTH    CAEOLIJSTA    BOOKLET 

Preston,  William  Christian  and  Joseph  Martin,  of  Virginia, 
and  Robert  Lanier,  Evan  Shelby,  Joseph  Williams  and  John 
Sevier,  of  JSTorth  Carolina,  commissioners  to  meet  commis- 
sioners from  the  Cherokees  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  bound- 
aries, to  arrange  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners  and  terms 
of  peace,  and  to  invite  the  Indians  to  appoint  a  commission 
to  visit  Congress.*^ 

The  treaty  was  set  for  March  24,  1781,  at  the  Long  Island 
of  Holston  River.  On  that  day  Colonels  Campbell,  Martin, 
Shelby  and  Sevier  assembled  there,  and  sent  off  one  of  the 
Indians  captured  in  the  recent  campaign  to  the  Indian  nation 
proposing  peace  and  fixing  June  10th  following  as  the  date 
for  the  conference.  The  date  was  again  postponed  until  July 
20,  1T81.^^  Continued  depredations  by  the  hostile  Indians 
earlier  in  the  year  seriously  hampered  the  Tennessee  and  Vir- 
ginia borderers  at  this  time;  and  Col.  John  Sevier,  suspect- 
ing that  "the  perpetrators  of  this  mischief  came  from  some 
hostile  towns  in  the  mountain  gorges,"  had  resolved  to  lead 
an  expedition  against  them. 

In  March  of  this  year  Colonels  John  Sevier  and  Isaac  Shelby  un- 
dertook an  expedition  against  the  Chickamauga  Indians,  and  to  assist 
in  this  undertaking  200  of  the  militia  of  Washington  county  joined 
Colonel  Isaac  Shelby  and  marched  to  the  Big  Island  in  the  French 
Broad  River,  vi^here  the  troops  were  rendezvoused,  from  which  point 
they  marched  for  the  sources  of  the  Mobile  River,  and  after  the  third 
day  they  crossed  the  Tennessee  river  at  Scitico,  at  which  point  they 
held  a  council  with  the  friendly  Indians.  On  the  6th  day  they  en- 
camped on  the  Hiawassee  river,  and  on  the  7th  day  they  crossed  the 
river  and  passed  into  the  territory  of  the  hostile  Indians,  Colonel 
Sevier  with  his  forces,  marched  immediately  against  Vann's  Towns, 
which  he  reduced  to  ashes,  and  thence  to  Bull  Town,  at  the  head  of 
Chickamogga  Creek.  After  the  destruction  of  this  town  they  marched 
to  the  Coosa  river,  where  they  killed  a  white  man  by  the  name  of 
Clements  from  whom  it  was  ascertained  that  he  was  a  sergeant  in 
the  British  army,  and  it  was  believed  that  he  instigated  the  Indians 
in  their  depredations  against  the  frontiers.  The  army  then  pro- 
ceeded to  Spring  Frog  Town,  thence  up  the  Coosa  river  to  Estanola 
and  Indian  Town  which  they  destroyed.     After  thus  destroying  the 


^Weeks  :  General  Joseph  Martin  and  the  War  of  the  Revolution  in  the  West, 
429-433;  Haywood:  Civil  and  Political  History  of  Tennessee  (1823)  ;  Summers: 
Southwest  Virginia,  348. 

^^Calendar  Virginia  State  Papers,  ii,  199. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  43 

Indian  towns  and  killing  all  the  Indian  Warriors  they  could  find,  the 
troops  returned  to  Ghote,  where  a  council  was  held  with  the  friendly 
Indians,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  troops  were  disbanded  and 
returned  to  their  homes.^ 

Although  neither  Shelby  nor  Sevier  could  lead  a  force  of 
mountain  men  to  the  relief  of  Grreene,  Captain  Charles  Rob- 
ertson raised  a  company  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  volun- 
teers and  took  a  creditable  part  in  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Courthouse  on  March  15,  1781.^^  With  equal  patriotism, 
Colonel  William  Campbell  raised  a  company  of  one  hundred 
men  of  the  militia  of  Washington  County,  and  on  February 
25,  1781,  set  out  to  join  the  militia  of  Botetourt  and  Mont- 
gomery counties,  on  their  march  to  join  General  Greene's 
army.  "A  large  number  would  have  gone,"  says  Arthur  Camp- 
bell in  a  letter  to  Governor  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  of 
date  February  28,  1781,  "were  it  not  for  the  daily  apprehen- 
sion of  attacks  from  the  northward  and  southern  Indians." 
About  March  3,  Colonel  Campbell  with  sixty  followers  in  his 
immediate  command,  effected  a  junction  with  Greene's  army ; 
but  the  total  number  of  the  combined  forces  of  William  Camp- 
bell and  William  Preston,  who  reached  Greene  about  the 
same  time,  was  upwards  of  four  hundred. ^^  These  forces 
fought  with  staunchness  and  bravery  at  Guilford  Courthouse, 
fully  justifying  Greene's  description  of  the  "back  country 
people"  as  "bold  and  daring  in  their  make."^^ 

XI 

Following  the  Battle  of  Guilford  Courthouse,  Greene  de^ 
voted  his  attention  to  reducing  the  British  posts  in  South 

^This  account  is  taken  from  Summer :  Southwest  Virginia,  360-1.  Cf.  also 
Ramsey  :  Tennessee,  268-9  ;  Weeks  :  Joseph  Martin,  432.  In  his  Autobiography, 
Shelby  makes  no  mention  of  having  taken  part  in  this  expedition. 

^iRamsey  :  Annals  of  Tennessee,  251 ;  cf.  monograph.  Major  Charles  Robert- 
son, and  Some  of  His  Descendants,  by  Mrs.  Charles  Fairfax  Henley.  Cf.  also 
Schenck's  North  Carolina,  1780-1,  302. 

^^Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,  542  ;  Johnson's  Greene,  i.  455.  Draper  is 
in  error  in  giving  the  citation  to  Johnson,  i,  438,  in  support  of  the  statement 
that  there  were  "four  hundred  mountaineers"  under  Campbell  ;  the  allusion  is 
to  the  "400  regulars,  under  Colonel  Richard  Campbell,"  who  had  been  organ- 
ized and  despatched  to  Greene's  relief  by  the  Baron  Steuben.  (Schenck's  North 
Carolina:  1780-81,  272.) 

^Cf.  Ramsey's  Annals  of  Tennessee,  251-2,  for  comments  upon  the  probable 
results  of  that  battle,  had  Shelby  and  Sevier  led  the  over-mountain  men  to 
Greene's   assistance. 


44  THE    NOETH    CAEOLIJSTA    BOOKLET 

Carolina  and  Georgia.  After  the  fall  of  Augusta,  on  June 
25,  only  Ninety-six  remained  in  British  hands ;  but  Greene 
was  foiled  in  his  attack  upon  that  post  on  June  18  and  19. 
From  the  "Camp  at  Bush  River,  in  the  District  of  !N"inety-six, 
June  22,  1781,"  Greene  once  more  appealed  for  aid  to  the 
Watauga  riflemen  in  a  letter  to  Isaac  Shelby,  hitherto  unpub- 
lished.   In  this  important  letter  he  says : 

We  have  been  upon  the  eve  of  reducing  all  the  enemies  interior 
posts  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Ninety-Six  vs^as  the  last  and 
four  days  more  would  have  completed  its  reduction,  when,  unfor- 
tunately, we  were  compelled  to  raise  the  siege,  the  enemy  having 
been  reinforced  at  Charlestovpn.  Lord  Rawdon  marched  out  in 
force  and  is  now  in  our  neighborhood.  To  secure  the  advantages  of 
our  past  success  it  is  necessary  we  should  drive  the  enemy  into  the 
lower  country.  To  enable  us  to  effect  this  I  beg  you  to  march  to  our 
assistance  a  thousand  good  riflemen,  well  armed  and  equipped  fit  for 
action.  If  you  can  join  us  in  a  few  days  with  such  a  force  you  will 
render  an  important  service  to  the  public  in  general,  to  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  in  particular,  and  lay  me  under  very  particular  obli- 
gations.    I  feel  myself  deeply  interested  in  this  application. 

At  the  time  when  this  letter  reached  Shelby,  the  military 
leaders  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee  were  busily  concerned  in 
the  negotiations  for  peace  with  the  Cherokees.  Isaac  Shelby 
attended  the  treaty  at  the  Long  Island  of  Holston  from  July 
20  to  July  29,  1781.  The  despatches  from  the  Commissioners 
to  General  Greene^,  reporting  the  results  of  this  treaty,  were 
entrusted  to  Shelby  for  delivery,  as  it  was  known  that  he  had 
promised  General  Greene  to  raise  a  force  and  march  to  his 
aid.  The  following  letter,  hitherto  unpublished  in  any  his- 
tory, exhibits  in  detail  the  efforts  made  by  Shelby  and  Sevier 
to  raise  and  to  march  a  force  to  cooperate  with  Greene. 

Camp  on  Wattauga  Washington  Covmty 

North  Carolina  3d  August  1781. 
HoND.  Sir  :  In  answer  to  your  request  of  the  22d  June  last  I  rote 
you  by  the  Express,  that  I  should  March  by  the  15th  July  with  what 
force  cou'd  be  rais'd  in  this  quarter,  but  the  Cherokee  Treaty  not 
being  over  found  it  impracticable  to  draw  any  force  from  here  untUl 
that  important  Business  (to  this  frontier)  was  finally  ratified,  which 
was  done  the  29th  July,  and  immediately  every  step  taken  to  rein- 


ISAAC    SHELBY  45 

force  you ;  about  700  good  riflemen  well  mounted  were  now  in  motion 
toward  you  &  should  Mve  been  down  in  as  short  a  time  as  possible 
but  an  Express  arrived  in  camp  last  night  from  General  Pickens  that 
informed  us  of  the  Enemys  retreat  to  Orangeburg  and  perhaps  to 
Charles  Town,  that  distance  being  so  very  great  for  us,  the  warm 
season  of  the  year  &  the  men  not  prepared  for  so  long  a  Tower,  had 
induced  Col.  Severe  of  this  county  and  myself  from  proceeding  on 
our  march,  until  one  hear  farther  accounts  from  that  quarter  tho  the 
men  are  ordered  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  on  the 
shortest  notice,  and  as  our  country  is  now  in  a  state  of  peace  and 
tranquility,  have  no  doubt  but  we  can  furnish  you  with  a  large  pro- 
portion of  good  men  from  here  whenever  you  may  find  necessary  to 
require  us. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be  with,  respect 

Your  Mo.  Obt.  Hvunble  Servt. 

Endorsed :  Isaac  Shelby.^ 

From  Colo.  Shelby 
Augt.  .3d.,  1781. 

After  Shelby  and  Sevier  concluded  not  to  march,  Shelby 
returned  the  despatches  for  Greene,  mentioned  above,  to  the 
Commissioners  who  had  negotiated  the  treaty  with  the  Cliero- 
kees.^^  Greene  had  been  greatly  depressed  by  the  failure  of 
Shelby  and  Sevier  to  march  their  seven  hundred  riflemen  to 
his  assistance;  and  throughout  July  he  was  frequently  heard 
to  exclaim:  ''What  can  detain  Shelby  and  Sevier ?"^*^  Writ- 
ing to  Colonel  Lee  from  Camden  on  August  25,  Greene  de- 
spondently says :  "We  are  thus  far  on  our  way  to  join  Colonel 
Henderson,  but  the  tardiness  with  which  everybody  moves 
who  was  expected  to  join  us,  almost  makes  me  repent  that  I 
have  put  the  troops  in  motion.  ISTear  two  hundred  of  the 
JSTorth  Carolina  Regulars,  who  ought  to  have  been  here  four 
days  past,  are  not  likely  to  be  here  for  four  or  five  to  come. 
Colonel  Shelby,  I  believe,  had  gone  back,  if  he  ever  set  out, 
which  I  much  doubt.  General  Pickens  had  not  been  heard  of, 
and  I  fear  will  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  bring  any  con- 


"Original  MS.  letter  owned  by  Arthur  M.  Rutledge,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
Draper  is  in  error  in  stating  that  Greene's  letter  to  Shelby  miscarried.  {King's 
Mountain  and  its  Heroes,  413)  Johnson  erroneously  cites  Sevier  as  the  author  of 
Shelby's  letter  above  (Greene,  ii,  210). 

^Shelby's  Autohiograpliy .  The  details  of  the  treaty,  it  seems,  have  never  been 
published.  G.  W.  Greene  clearly  is  in  error  in  giving  the  date  of  Shelby's  letter 
to  Greene  as  August  6  (Life  of  Nathaniel  Oreene,  iii,  374n).  Of.  also  Johnson: 
Greene,  ii,  184-5. 

^•Johnson's  Greene,  ii,  210. 


46  THE    SrOKTH    CAEOLINA    BOOKLET 

siderable  reinforcements ;  nor  do  I  expect  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Henderson  will  be  able  to  do  much  more.  Tbe  State  troops 
I  am  told  (are)  all  getting  sickly,  as  is  the  ISTorth  Carolina 
Regulars.  Not  more  than  one-half  the  militia  from  North 
Carolina  are  arrived,  and  the  whole  that  are  here  don't  exceed 
four  hundred.  You  know  I  never  despair,  nor  shrink  at  diffi- 
culties, but  our  prospects  are  not  flattering. "^'^ 

Greene  continued  to  rely  upon  receiving  reinforcements 
from  Watauga;  and  after  his  victory  at  Eutaw  Springs,  he 
despatched  to  Shelby  the  following  letter,  which  was  to  have 
momentous  consequences.  This  letter  was  not  received  by 
Shelby  before  the  last  of  September  or  first  of  October,  as  it 
"came  through  Virginia,  was  found  in  Henry  County  by  a 
neighbor,  and  brought  out  at  his  leisure." 

Head  Quarters, 
High  Hills  of  Santee 
Sept.  16,  1781. 
Dear  Sib  : 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  we  had  an  action  with  the 
British  Army  on  the  8th  in  which  we  were  victorious.  We  took 
500  prisoners  and  killed  and  wounded  a  much  greater  number.  We 
also  took  near  1000  stand  of  arms,  and  have  driven  the  enemy  near 
to  the  gates  of  Charleston.  I  have  also  the  pleasure  to  inform  you 
that,  a  large  French  fleet  of  nearly  thirty  sail  of  the  line,  has 
arrived  in  the  Chessepeak  bay,  vnth  a  considerable  number  of  land 
forces ;  all  of  which  are  to  be  employed  against  Lord  Cornwallis,  who 
it  is  suspected  will  endeavor  to  make  good  his  retreat  through  North 
Carolina  to  Charleston.  To  prevent  which  I  beg  you  to  bring  out  as 
many  riflemen  as  you  can,  and  as  soon  as  possible.  You  will  march 
them  to  Charlotte,  and  inform  me  the  moment  you  set  out,  and  of 
your  arrival. 

If  we  can  intercept  his  lordship  it  will  put  a  finishing  stroke  to 
the  war  in  the  Southern  states. 

Should  I  get  any  intelligence  which  may  change  the  face  of  mat- 
ters I  will  advise  you.  I  am  with  esteem  and  regard,  your  most 
obedient  &  humble  Servant,  Nath.  Geeen. 

Col.  Shelby,  back  parts  of  North  Carolina.^ 


B7H.  Lee:   Campaign  of  1781  in  the  Carolinas   (1824),  455-6. 

^SLetter  of  Isaac  Shelby  to  C.  S.  Todd,  June  28,  1822.  This  letter  was  first 
given  publicity  by  Shelby  in  his  Memoir  because  of  the  unwarranted  charge 
brought  by  Judge  Johnson  in  his  biography  of  Greene  (ii,  258)  against  Sevier 
and  Shelby  for  having  "deserted"  Greene. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  4T 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter^  Shelby  immediately  com- 
municated its  contents  by  express  to  Sevier,  who  lived  fifty 
miles  away,  and  proposed  a  rendezvous  of  their  men  early  in 
October.  In  making  the  enlistments,  Shelby  assured  the 
volunteers  that  they  should  not  be  absent  from  their  families 
for  more  than  sixty  days. 

I  made  great  exertions,  and  collected  the  men  in  a  few  days  there- 
after, many  of  them  had  not  received  more  than  24  hours  notice  and 
lived  more  than  100  miles  from  the  place  of  rendezvous — but  were 
willing  to  go  as  the  call  was  made  for  a  special  purpose — to  wit, 
to  intercept  Lord  Comwallis  who  it  was  suspected  would  endeavor  to 
make  good  his  retreat  through  N.  Carolina  to  Charleston  and  Gen. 
Green  thought  and  so  did  I  that  if  we  could  intercept  him,  it  would 
put  an  end  to  the  war  in  the  S.  states.  To  effect  this  important 
object,  the  people  on  the  western  waters  were  induced  to  volunteer 
their  services — it  was  for  this  purpose  that  they  were  prevailed  upon 
to  leave  their  homes  500  miles  from  the  scene  of  operations  to  defend 
a  Maritime  district  of  country  surrounded  with  a  dense  population 
and  in  comparative  quiet,  while  their  own  firesides  were  daily 
menaced  by  the  Chicamauga  Indians,  who  as  you  know  had  declared 
perpetual  war  against  the  whites  and  could  never  be  induced  to 
make  peace.  I  was  far  advanced  on  my  road  when  I  received  vague 
information  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  in  Virginia  and  hesitated 
whether  to  proceed.  But  as  the  men  appeared  to  be  willing  to  serve 
out  a  tour  of  duty  which  at  the  time  of  their  entering  the  service  I 
repeatedly  assured  them  should  not  exceed  60  days  absence  from 
their  homes,  I  proceeded  on  more  leisurely  to  Green,  who  observed  to 
me  that  such  a  body  of  horse  could  not  remain  in  the  vicinity  of  his 
camp  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  forage  and  requested  me  to  serve 
out  the  tour  with  Marion,  to  which  I  consented,  however,  with  some 
reluctance  as  the  men  would  be  drawn  70  or  80  miles  further  from 
their  homes.^® 

Shelby  quickly  raised  upwards  of  five  hundred  mounted 
riflemen;  and  Sevier  with  equal  despatch  raised  two  hun- 
dred mounted  riflemen  in  Washington  County.  These  two 
bodies,  totalling  some  seven  hundred,  joined  Marion  at  his 
camp  on  the  Santee.  The  hint  was  given  to  Marion  that  ''if 
he  would  keep  them  he  must  keep  them  busy."^^ 

It  was  with  considerable  reluctance  that  Shelby  and  Sevier 


^^Shelby's  Autobiography. 

^'Greene  Mss.,  cited  in  Greene's  Greene,  iii,  419. 


48  THE  NORTH  CAKOLHSTA  BOOKLET 

consented  to  being  attached  to  Marion's  command.  "Their 
men  were  called  out  upon  a  pressing  emergency  which  no 
longer  existed.  They  had  been,  moreover,  enrolled  only 
sixty  days.  Much  of  that  time  had  already  expired,  and  the 
contemplated  service  under  Marion  would  take  them  still 
further  from  their  distant  homes.  Besides  Shelby  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  from 
Sullivan  County,  and  its  session  at  Salem  took  place  early  in 
December."®-*^ 

Almost  at  once  they  were  engaged  in  very  active  service. 
The  account  of  the  ensuing  events  is  contained  in  Shelby's 
Autobiography,  here  reproduced  as  written : 

The  enemies  main  Southern  army,  it  was  said,  lay  at  that  time 
near  a  place  called  Fergusson's  Swamp  on  the  great  road  bearing  di- 
rectly to  Charleston.  Gen'l  Marion  received  information  several 
weaks  after  our  arrival  at  his  camp  that  several  hundred  Hessians 
at  a  British  Post  near  Monk's  Corner,  eight  or  ten  miles  below  the 
enemies  main  army  were  in  a  state  of  mutiny,  and  would  surrender 
the  post  to  any  considerable  American  force  that  might  appear  before 
it;  and  consulted  his  principal  officers  on  the  propriety  of  surprising 
it,  which  was  soon  determined  on,  and  Shelby  and  Sevier  solicited  a 
command  in  it.  Marion  accordingly  moved  down  eight  or  ten  miles, 
and  crossed  over  to  the  South  side  of  the  Santee  River,  from  whence 
he  made  a  detachment  of  five  or  six  hundred  men  to  surprise  the 
post,  the  command  of  which  was  given  to  Colonel  Mayhem.  The 
detachment  consisted  of  Shelby's  mounted  riflemen  with  Mayhem's 
Dragoons,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty,  and  about  twenty  or  thirty 
lowland  mounted  militia,  the  command  of  the  whole  was  given  to 
Colonel  Mayhem.  They  took  up  their  march  early  in  the  morning, 
and  traveled  fast  through  the  woods  until  late  in  the  evening  of  the 
second  day,  when  they  struck  the  great  road  leading  to  Charleston, 
about  two  miles  below  the  enemy's  post,  which  they  intended  to  sur- 
prise. They  lay  upon  their  arms  all  night  across  the  road  with  a 
design  to  intercept  the  Hessians  in  case  the  enemy  had  got  notice  of 
our  approach  and  had  ordered  them  down  to  Charleston  before  morn- 
ing. In  the  course  of  the  night  which  was  as  dark  as  pitch  an 
orderly  Sergeant  rode  into  the  line  amongst  us,  and  was  taken 
prisoner.  No  material  papers  were  found  upon  him  before  he  made 
his  escape  except  a  pocket  book  which  contained  the  strength  of  the 
enemy's  main  army  and  their  number  then  on  the  sick  list,  which  was 
very  great. 


•iRamsey :  Annals  of  Tennessee^  254. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  49 

As  soon  as  daylight  appeared,  we  advanced  to  the  British  Post,  and 
arrived  there  before  sunrise.  Col.  Mayhem  sent  in  one  of  his  confi- 
dential officers  with  peremptory  demand  for  a  surrender  of  the  gar- 
rison, who  in  a  few  minutes  returned  and  reported  that  the  officer 
commanding  was  determined  to  defend  the  post  to  the  last  extremity. 
Col.  Shelby  then  proposed  that  he  would  go  in  himself  and  make 
another  effort  to  obtain  a  surrender,  which  Mayhem  readily  con- 
sented to.  Upon  his  approach  he  discovered  a  gap  in  the  Abbaties,^ 
through  which  he  rode  up  close  to  the  building,  when  an  officer  opened 
one  leaf  of  a  long  folding  door.  Col.  Shelby  addressed  him  in  these 
words,  "Will  you  be  so  mad  as  to  suffer  us  to  storm  your  works,  if 
you  do  rest  assured  that  every  soul  of  you  will  be  put  to  the  sword, 
for  there  was  several  hundred  men  at  hand  that  would  soon  be  in 
with  their  tomahawks  upon  them" ;  he  then  inquired  if  they  had  any 
artillery.  Shelby  replied,  "that  they  had  guns  that  would  blow  them 
to  pieces  in  a  minute."  Upon  which  the  officer  replied,  "I  suppose  I 
must  give  up."  Mayhem  seeing  the  door  thrown  wide  open,  and 
Shelby  ascend  the  high  steps  to  the  door,  immediately  advanced  with 
his  dragoons,  and  formed  on  the  right.  It  was  not  until  this  moment 
we  discovered  another  strong  British  Fort  that  stood  five  or  six  hun- 
dred yards  to  the  East,  and  this  is  the  first  knowledge  we  had  of 
that  post,  the  garrison  of  which  immediately  marched  out,  about  one 
hundred  infantry  and  forty  or  fifty  cavali*y  came  around  the  North 
Angle  of  the  fort  all  apparently  with  a  design  to  attack  us ;  they 
however  soon  halted  as  we  stood  firm  and  prepared  to  meet  them. 
We  took  a  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  all  of  them  able  to  have  fought 
from  the  windows  of  the  house,  or  from  behind  Abbaties.  Ninety 
of  them  were  able  to  stand  a  march  to  Marion's  camp  that  day  which 
was  near  sixty  miles ;  and  we  paroled  the  remainder  most  of  whom 
appeared  to  have  been  sick,  and  unable  to  stand  so  hard  a  march. 
Information  soon  reached  Marion's  camp  that  the  post  had  been 
burnt  down  immediately  on  our  leaving  it;  but  it  was  always  the 
opinion  of  Col.  Shelby  that  the  enemy  had  abandoned  it,  and  burnt 
it  themselves,  for  Mayhem  and  Shelby  were  the  two  last  men  that 
left  the  place,  and  at  that  time  there  was  not  the  least  sign  of  fire  or 
smoke  about  it.  This  it  is  most  probable  they  would  do,  as  they  had 
previously  destroyed,  and  burned  down  almost  every  building  in  that 
part  of  the  country.  This  post  was  an  immense  brick  building,  calcu- 
lated to  hold  a  thousand  men,  and  said  to  have  been  built  by  Sir 
John  GoUitin  a  century  before  that  period  as  well  for  defense  as 
comfort ;  and  was  well  enclosed  by  a  strong  abbaties.  In  it  were 
found,  besides  the  prisoners  three  or  four  hundred  stand  of  arms, 
and  as  many  new  blankets.  The  American  detachment  left  this  post 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  of  the  same  day,  and  arrived  at  Marion's 
camp  the  night  following  at  three  o'clock.  Gen.  Stewart  who  com- 
manded the  Enemy's  main  army,  eight  or  ten  miles  above  made  great 
4 


50  THE  NORTH  CAKOLHSTA  BOOKLET 

efforts  to  intercept  us  on  our  return.  And  it  was  announced  to 
Marion  before  sunrise  next  morning  tliat  the  whole  British  army  was 
in  the  old  field  about  three  miles  off  at  the  outer  end  of  the  cause- 
way that  led  into  his  camp.  Shelby  was  immediately  ordered  out 
with  the  mountain  men  to  meet  him  at  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  'to 
attack  the  enemy  if  he  attempted  to  advance  and  retreat  at  his  own 
discretion,  to  where  Marion  would  have  his  whole  force  drawn  up  to 
sustain  him  at  an  old  field.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  the  edge 
of  the  open  plain,  he  observed  two  British  officers  ride  up  to  a  house 
equidistant  between  the  lines,  after  they  retired  he  rode  to  the 
house  to  know  what  inquiries  they  had  made ;  a  man  told  him  that 
they  had  asked  him  when  the  Americans  detaclmaent  had  got  in,  what 
was  their  force,  and  of  what  troops  it  was  composed ;  he  replied  that 
the  detachment  had  come  in  just  before  day,  that  he  had  supposed 
as  they  went  out  they  were  six  or  eight  hundred  strong ;  and  were 
composed  chiefly  of  Shelby's  and  Sevier's  mounted  men,  with  May- 
hem's Dragoons.  The  enemy  then  being  in  the  edge  of  the  woods, 
silently  withdrew  out  of  sight,  and  retreated  back  in  the  utmost 
disorder  and  confusion.  A  small  party  sent  out  to  reconnoiter  the 
enemy,  reported  that  many  of  them  had  thrown  away  their  knai)- 
sacks,  guns  and  canteens.  A  few  days  afterwards  Gen'l.  Marion  re- 
ceived intelligence  that  the  British  commander  had  retreated  with 
his  whole  force  to  Charleston.  Marion's  sole  design  in  moving  from 
the  camp  when  the  mountain  men  first  joined  him,  and  crossing  the 
Santee  River  below,  was  to  get  within  striking  distance  of  the  be- 
fore mentioned  post,  to  make  the  said  detachment,  and  be  able  to 
protect  and  support  them  on  their  retreat  if  hard  pushed  by  the 
enemy.  After  this  the  enemy  kept  so  within  their  lines  that  little  or 
no  blood  was  spilt,  and  all  active  movements  appearing  to  be  at  an 
end,  Shelby  made  application  to  Gen'l  Marion  for  leave  of  absence  to 
go  to  the  Assembly  of  North  Carolina,  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
and  which  was  to  meet  about  that  time  at  Salem,  and  where  he  had 
private  business  of  his  own  of  the  first  importance.  The  mountain 
men  had  then  but  a  day  or  two  to  stay,  to  complete  their  tour  of 
duty,  of  sixty  days,  and  he  verily  believes  that  they  did  serve  it  out, 
as  he  never  heard  to  the  contrary.*^ 


"^In  a  conversation  with  C.  S.  Todd,  May  16,  1826,  Shelby  said  concerning  the 
affair  at  Monk's  Corner  : 

"When  we  arrived  on  parade  with  the  detachment  against  the  British  post 
near  Monk's  Corner,  I  did  not  know  who  was  to  command  but  I  expected  I  was — 
as  I  had  been  informed  that  Marion  was  only  a  Lt.-Col.  When  I  understood  the 
command  had  been  assigned  to  Marion  I  made  objections  and  refused  to  march, 
as  I  was  the  superior  officer.  The  detachment  stood  still  until  Marion  himself 
came  from  a  distance  of  one-half  mile  who  entreated  me  in  the  most  friendly 
language  to  yield  to  the  arrangement  he  had  made.  That  Marion  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  country  through  which  we  were  to  pass  and  with  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  post  we  were  to  attack.  I  submitted  to  his 
request  because  I  was  to  stay  but  a  short  time  in  camp  and  I  thought  Marion  to 
be  much  of  a  gentleman  and  so  he  treated  me.  Indeed,  throughout  the  expedi- 
tion he  gave  me  no  orders  but  consulted  me  on  all  occasions.  These  mountain- 
eers were  poor  men  who  lived  by  keeping  stock  in  the  range  beyond  the  moun- 
tains, they  were  volunteers  and  neither  expected  nor  received  any  compensation 


ISAAC    SHELBY  51 

XII 

On  I^ovember  25,  having  virtually  filled  out  their  term  of 
enlistment,  the  mountaineers  set  off  homeward  in  a  deep 
snow.  About  ISTovember  28  th,  Shelby  applied  to  Marion  for 
leave  of  absence  to  attend  the  session  of  the  Assembly  of 
IsTorth  Carolina,  which  was  to  meet  at  the  Moravian  Town 
(Salem).  Shelby  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  legis- 
lature from  Sullivan  County  and  was  charged  with  a  "Memo- 
rial to  be  laid  before  that  body  in  relation  to  a  subject  of 
deep  importance."  According  to  Shelby's  own  statement, 
General  Marion  "readily  gTanted  my  request  and  addressed 
a  letter  by  me  to  General  Green  which  I  was  permitted  to  see 
directed  to  him  at  the  High  Hills  of  Santee  where  he  ex- 
pected General  Green  was  still  encamped.  In  this  letter  I 
have  a  distinct  recollection  that  he  spoke  in  the  highest  terms 
of  the  conduct  of  the  mountaineers  and  gave  me  my  full  share 
of  the  credit  for  the  capture  of  the  British  Post."^^ 

Shelby  attended  the  JSTorth  Carolina  Assembly  at  Salem  in 
December,  1781,  which  adjourned  without  action.  On  re- 
turning to  Holston,  as  stated  by  Draper,  Shelby  "was  engaged 
during  the  spring  in  preparing  for  an  expedition  against  the 
Chickamauga  band  of  Cherokees,  and  the  hostile  Creeks  at 
the  sources  of  the  Mobile^  in  which  enterprise  he  was  to  have 
been  joined  by  two  hundred  men  from  Washington  County, 
Virginia;  but  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  that  State,  the 
authorities  discouraged  the  scheme,  and  reaching  Big  Creek, 
thirty  miles  below  Long  Island  of  Holston,  the  expedition  was 
relinquished."^^  Having  again  been  elected  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Assembly,   Shelby  attended  the  session  at 


"^Shelby's  statements  effectually  dispose  of  Judge  Johnson's  malicious  charges 
(Greene,  ii,  258j5f),  repeated  by  G.  W.  Greene  (Greene,  iii,  419).  The  whole 
matter  has  been  thoroughly  traversed  by  Ramsey  in  his  Aniials  of  Tennessee 
(1853   edn.)    253-261if. 

"^In  this  connection,  cf.  N.  C.  State  Records,  xvi,  696-7-8,  for  plans  for  the 
expedition. 

except  liquidated  certificates  worth  2S.  in  the  pound.  Gen.  Greene  had  no  right 
nor  ought  to  have  expected  to  command  their  services.  For  myself  for  the  whole 
services  of  1780  and  1781  both  in  camp  and  in  the  assembly  I  received  a  liquida- 
tion certificate  which  my  agent  in  that  county  after  my  removal  to  Kentucky 
sold  for  six  yards  of  Middling  Broadcloth  and  I  gave  one  coat  of  it  to  the  person 
who  brought  it  out  to  me — indeed  I  was  proud  of  receiving  that." 


52  THE    ISrOETH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

Hillsborougli  in  April^  1Y82.^^  At  tMs  session  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  proceedings,  and  was  engaged  busily  on 
important  committees.  At  this  session  was  passed  the  liberal 
"Act  for  the  relief  of  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  in  the  Conti- 
nental line,  etc./'  rewarding  the  revolutionary  soldiers  for 
their  patriotic  services — to  every  soldier  who  should  continue 
in  the  ranks  until  the  end  of  the  war  640  acres  of  land;  to 
every  officer  a  larger  quantity  according  to  his  rank,  a  colonel 
receiving  Y,200  and  a  brigadier  12,000  acres ;  and  to  G^eneral 
Greene  25,000  acres.  Section  VIII  of  this  act  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 

And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  Absalom  Tatom,  Isaac  Shelby,  and 
Anthony  Bledsoe,  Esquires,  or  any  two  of  them,  are  appointed  com- 
missioners in  behalf  of  the  State,  to  examine  and  superintend  the 
laying  off  the  land  in  one  or  more  tracts  allotted  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers,  and  they  shall  be  accompanied  by  one  or  more  agents,  whom 
the  officers  may  appoint,  to  assist  in  the  business ;  and  in  case  any 
commissioner  so  appointed  shall  die,  or  refuse  to  act  his  Excellency 
the  Governor  shall  fill  up  the  vacancy." 

Full  instructions  were  given  the  commissioners  by  Governor 
Alexander  Martin, ^''^  and,  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  one 
hundred  men,  they  arrived  at  I^ashborough  and  the  Cumber- 
land in  January,  1783.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  act 
above,  the  commissioners  were  instructed  to  settle  the  pre- 
emption claims  of  those  who  had  settled  on  the  Cumberland 
River  prior  to  June  1,  1780.  Under  conditions  of  grave 
danger  from  the  Indians,  who  killed  various  members  of  the 
Cumberland  settlements,  including  one  of  their  own  party, 
the  commissioners  satisfactorily  concluded  their  task  in  the 
early  spring  of  1783.^^  Their  visit  marks  the  beginning  of 
prosperity  and  moderate  security  from  the  Indians,  for  the 
exposed  settlements  along  the  Cumberland. 


6SCf.  N.  C.  State  Records,  xvi,  68,  101,  109,  128,  passim.  For  a  long  and 
laborious,  yet  Imperfect  sketch  of  Isaac  Shelby,  compare  National  Portrait  Gal- 
lery, i  (1834).  This  sketch,  by  his  son-in-law,  Charles  Stewart  Todd,  once 
Minister  to  Russia,  is  reproduced,  with  a  number  of  alterations,  in  G.  W.  Grif- 
fin's Memoir  of  Col.  Chas.  S.  Todd   (1873),  157-174. 

^State  Records  of  N.  C,  xxiv,  421. 

^N.  C.  State  Records,  xvi,  713  ;  Martin  to  the  Commissioners. 

"sputnam  :  History  of  Middle  Tennessee,  162-3,  172,  177,  contains  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  commissioners. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  53 

On  January  13,  1783,  Isaac  Shelby,  Joseph  Martin,  and 
John  Donelson  were  appointed  commissioners  on  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Virginia  to  treat  with  the  Cherokees,  Creeks  and 
Chickasaws  for  peace.  Shelby  did  not  attend  the  treaties 
subsequently  held  with  the  Chickamaugas  at  the  Long  Island 
of  Holston  on  July  9,  1Y83 ;  and  with  the  Chickasaws  at  the 
French  Lick  on  ^November  5  and  6,  1783.^® 

In  fact,  more  important  business  now  occupied  his  atten- 
tion ;  for  in  April  he  was  married  to  the  young  woman  whom 
he  had  long  loved — Susanna  Hart.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Colonel  Nathaniel  Hart  of  l^orth  Carolina,  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Transylvania  Company.  Isaac  Shelby  courted 
his  sweetheart  at  the  famous  fort  of  Boonesborough,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  which  her  father  had  been  slain  by  the 
Indians  the  preceding  year.''^^  'No  doubt  he  wore  at  the  time 
that  memorable  "suit  of  middling  broadcloth,"  which  was  his 
recompense  for  his  service  to  his  country  in  the  King's  Moun- 
tain campaign.  In  the  union  of  the  names  of  Hart  and 
Shelby,  and  in  the  associations  which  cluster  about  them,  may 
be  recognized  a  living  symbol  of  the  greatness  of  Kentucky 
for  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter. 

The  marriage,  appropriately  solemnized  as  the  Revolu- 
tion came  to  a  triumphant  close,  marks  the  end  of  the  era. 
Of  Shelby's  future  career — as  first  Governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth, general,  eminent  citizen — a  new  study  must  be  pro- 
jected.''^^ A  fitting  summary  of  the  virtues  of  this  distin- 
guished American,  whose  honored  name  is  forever  linked  with 
the  history  of  Korth  Carolina,  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky,  and  the  nation,  is  contained  in  these  words  of 
Governor  James  T.  Morehead,  in  his  address  at  Boonesbor- 
ough (May  25,  1840)  : 

"Great  men,"  said  Mr.  Burke,  "are  the  guide  posts  and  landmarks 
in  the  State."    The  life  of  Isaac  Shelby  is  a  signal  example  of  un- 


'"Weeks :  Joseph  Martin,  435-6. 

wCf.  Mrs.  Ellef s  Pioneer  Women  of  the  West,  19-22,  in  sketch  of  Mary  Bled- 
soe ;  Address  of  George  Blackburn  Kinkead,  delivered  at  Boonsborough  Fort, 
Oct.  5,  1907  ;  Taylor's  Historic  Sullivan,  36-7. 

"In  this  connection  compare  the  address  of  Mrs.  Mary  Shelby  Wilson  at  the 
unveiling  and  presentation  to  Memorial  Continental  Hall  of  the  marble  bust  of 
Isaac  Shelby,  April  19,  1811. 


54  THE  NOETH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

blemished  personal  integrity  and  enlarged  public  usefulness,  whicii 
may  be  safely  imitated  by  all  those  who  aspire  to  become  bene- 
factors of  their  country.  Starting  into  active  life  without  the  aid  of 
fortune  or  education,  he  pursued  the  gradations  of  military  rank 
from  the  lieutenancy  of  a  militia  company  to  the  command  of  a  regi- 
ment— he  rose  from  the  hvunble  station  of  a  surveyor  among  the 
pioneers  to  the  governorship  of  a  great  Commonwealth — and  was 
distinguished  in  all  the  posts  to  which  he  was  called.  His  mind  like 
his  body  was  strong  and  vigorous :  boldness,  energy,  decision,  were 
its  leading  characteristics.  Capable  of  thinking  for  himself,  he  in- 
vestigated every  important  subject  that  came  within  the  range  of  his 
private  or  public  duties,  with  candor  and  deliberation ;  and  having 
formed  his  opinions,  he  followed  them  with  unshaken  firmness.  He 
spoke  and  wrote  as  he  thought— with  great  force  and  vigor —  always 
expressing  his  opinions  vsi-th  manly  frankness,  and  a  lofty  disdain 
of  personal  consequences.  His  manners — derived  from  the  school  in 
which  he  was  brought  up — were  plain  and  simple,  and  commanded, 
without  any  affectation  of  dignity,  the  universal  deference  of  his 
associates.  He  was  sincere  but  not  profuse  in  his  professions  of 
attachment — faithful  and  steadfast  to  his  friends  when  those  attach- 
ments were  once  formed.  Elevating  himself  in  the  discharge  of  his 
official  duties  above  the  influence  of  private  considerations,  he  sought 
.  and  rewarded  merit  for  his  country's  sake.  If  such  was  his  character 
as  a  public  man,  he  maintained  all  the  relations  of  life  with  equal 
credit  and  success. 


ISAAC    SHELBY  55 


APPENDIX 

The  present  research,  dealing  with  the  career  of  Isaac  Shelby  down 
to  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  is  a  fragment  of  a  larger  study,  a 
detailed  biography.  In  the  preparation  of  these  two  papers,  I  have 
been  materially  assisted  by  my  friend,  Judge  Samuel  M.  Wilson,  of 
Lexington,  Kentucky.  He  has  placed  at  my  disposal  original  and  un- 
published material,  as  well  as  interesting  contributions  to  the  history 
of  Kentucky  and  the  West  which  have  remained  hidden  in  inaccessi- 
ble publications.  I  am  also  indebted  to  Mr.  William  R.  Shelby  of 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  and  to  Colonel  Samuel  King  of  Bristol, 
Tennessee-Virginia,  for  transcripts  of  valuable  documents  throwing 
light  upon  Shelby's  career. 

There  are  a  few  statements  to  be  made  here,  which  are  the  results 
of  more  intensive  study  and  purport  either  to  correct  or  to  modify 
statements  already  made. 

In  regard  to  the  parents  of  Greneral  Evan  Shelby,  to  wit :  Evan 
Shelby,  Sr.,  and  Catherine  Davies,  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
natives  of  Wales,  with  a  large  percentage  of  Welsh  blood.  Evan  and 
Davies  are  characteristic  Welsh  names.  Those  best  informed  in 
regard  to  the  family's  early  history,  however,  believe  that  the  name 
was  originally  Selby,  and  that  the  Shelbys  were  of  English  extrac- 
tion. 

The  records  at  Upper  Marlboro,  the  county  seat  of  Prince  George's 
County,  Maryland,  reveal  many  transactions  in  which  the  Shelbys 
figure  as  residents  of  said  county  prior  to  the  creation  of  Frederick 
County  (not  carved  out  of  Prince  George's  County  until  1748).  It 
is  probable  that  the  immigrant  ancestors  of  the  Shelby  family  settled 
in  Maryland  nearer  1730  than  1735.  Ultimately,  by  the  formation  of 
Washington  County,  the  residence  of  Evan  Shelby,  near  the  North 
Mountain,  was  found  to  be  in  Washington  County.  (See  Part  I, 
109-110.) 

The  earliest  surveys  and  grants  to  Evan  Shelby,  Senior  and  Junior, 
make  it  reasonably  certain  that  the  Shelbys  resided  continuously  in 
Maryland  from  1739  or  earlier  to  1771  or  1772.  In  particular,  see 
Scharf's  History  of  Western  Maryland,  ii,  982-6.     (See  Part  I,  112-3.) 

Isaac  Shelby's  mother  was  Letitia  Cox  (correctly  given  in  Part  I, 
p.  114,  inadvertently  given  as  "Scott"  on  p.  113).  There  is  strong  docu- 
mentary evidence  that  she  was  bom,  not  in  Frederick  Town,  but 
somewhere  in  Prince  George's  County,  Maryland.  She  was  married 
to  Evan  Shelby  probably  in  August,  1744. 

Isaac  Shelby  was  not  the  eldest  son  of  Evan  Shelby,  being  the 
second  son  and  third  child.  Susannah  Shelby,  born  about  1746,  was 
the  first  born  child  and  John  Shelby,  born  about  1748,  was  the 
second  child  and  eldest  son.     Evan  Shelby  brought  to  Virginia  five 


56  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

sons :  John,  Isaac,  Evan,  Moses  and  James.  A  younger  daughter, 
Catherine,  was  married  to  Captain  James  Thompson.     (Part  I,  113.) 

Within  recent  years  the  remains  of  General  Evan  Shelby  have  been 
removed  from  his  original  grave  and  re-interred  in  East  View  Ceme- 
tery, Bristol.     (Part  I,  114.) 

In  Part  I,  133,  twelfth  line  from  bottom  should  read  (in  part)  : 
"...     it  was  not  supposed     .     .     ." 

In  Part  I,  134,  the  last  two  lines  should  read:  "opened  at  St. 
Asaph's  on  October  13,  1779;  and  again  at  St.  Asaph's,  on  April  26, 
1780,  after  various  sessions  at  Harrodsburg  and  elsewhere,  the  court 
announced  that  its." 

In  Part  I,  135,  line  11,  "1778"  is  a  misprint  for  "1776." 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  "Captain  I.  Shelby"  re- 
ferred to  in  Clark's  Memoir,  is  not  Isaac,  but  James  Shelby.  The 
"J"  was  misread  "I."  At  this  time,  Isaac  Shelby  was  a  Major,  under 
commission  from  Governor  Jefferson  of  Virginia.  It  is  uncertain 
whether  this  James  Shelby  was  a  brother  or  a  cousin  of  Isaac  Shelby. 
(Part  I,  136.) 

In  Part  I,  141,  foot-note  49,  line  2,  "eighty- three"  is  a  misprint  for 
"sixty-three." 


NEGEO    SOIiDIEES  57 

NEGRO  SOLDIERS 

By  Chief  Justice  Walter  Clark 

In  view  of  the  enlistment  of  negroes  as  soldiers  in  tlie  pres- 
ent war,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  the  part  that  they  have 
taken  as  soldiers  in  our  previous  wars. 

In  the  Revolutionary  War  there  was  no  small  number  of 
negroes  who  served  as  soldiers.  These  were  mostly  free  ne- 
groes, but  no  small  part  of  them  were  slaves,  who  served, 
usually,  but  not  always,  as  substitutes  for  their  owners  under 
promise  of  freedom  at  the  end  of  the  war.  This  promise  was 
usually  kept,  but  not  always.  An  act  of  the  Virginia  Legis- 
lature passed  in  1783,  recites  that  every  slave  who  had 
enlisted  upon  the  faith  of  a  promise  of  freedom  from  his 
master  should  be  declared  free  accordingly,  and  directed  the 
Attorney-General  of  that  State  to  institute  proceedings  in  all 
cases  where  the  promise  had  not  been  complied  with,  and 
that  the  court  on  proof,  should  enter  a  decree  of  emancipation. 
It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  that  State  that  such  act  should 
have  been  passed. 

In  ISTorth  Carolina  it  does  not  appear  that  such  act  was 
necessary,  however,  as  the  only  statute  is  one  enfranchising  a 
certain  negro,  Ned  Griffin,  of  Edgecombe,  whose  master, 
William  Kitchen,  had  promised  him  his  liberty  on  condition 
of  service  in  the  Continental  line  of  this  State  for  twelve 
months,  which  he  had  done,  and  the  act  declared  him  a  free 
man.  Laws  1784,  ch.  70.  Laws  1779,  ch.  12,  validated  the 
freedom  of  all  slaves  who  had  served  in  the  army  under  the 
promise  of  being  free. 

These  negToes,  whether  freemen,  or  slaves,  enlisting  under 
a  promise  of  freedom,  did  not  serve  in  separate  organiza- 
tions, but  in  the  ranks  with  the  white  soldiers.  This  appears 
in  the  diary  of  Hugh  McDonald  of  this  State,  and  also  in 
other  memoirs  and  diaries  of  those  times. 

In  the  first  collision  between  the  Americans  and  the  British 
soldiers  in  Boston  the  leader  of  the  popular  revolt  was  Crispus 


58  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

Attucks,  a  free  negro,  wlio  was  killed  by  the  soldiers,  and 
whose  statue  today  stands  on  the  Boston  Commons. 

At  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  Peter  Salem,  a  negro  slave 
who  had  volunteered  on  promise  of  freedom,  behaved  with 
conspicuous  courage,  and  it  was  he  who  shot  Major  Pitcaim 
in  reply  to  a  summons  to  surrender.  Bancroft  says  that  "In 
the  forces  under  Washington  the  free  negroes  had  representa- 
tives in  various  companies  and  regiments,  and  their  names 
are  preserved  on  the  pension  list  of  the  nation."  At  that 
time  slavery  existed  in  all  the  Colonies  and,  the  draft  laws 
covering  only  "free  persons,"  no  slaves  were  drawn  except 
those  who  went  on  promise  of  freedom  or  as  substitutes  for 
their  masters.  These  served  usually  in  the  ranks  with  the 
other  soldiers,  but  it  is  recorded  that  Major  Samuel  Lawrence 
of  Groton,  Mass.,  raised  a  command  composed  entirely  of 
free  negroes.  The  Continental  Congress  passed  an  act  for- 
bidding the  acceptance  or  retention  of  such  as  were  "still  held 
in  bondage,"  and  thereupon  the  practice  obtained  of  confer- 
ring freedom  upon  those  slaves  who  served  as  substitutes  for 
their  masters,  or  voluntarily. 

Mr.  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  on  one  occasion  moved 
Congress  that  "all  negroes  be  dismissed  from  the  Continental 
armies."  This  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  and,  when  later, 
Congress  issued  an  order  directing  that  negro  soldiers  who 
were  slaves  should  be  rejected.  General  Washington  replied 
that  the  negroes  "are  very  much  dissatisfied  at  being  dis- 
carded, and,  as  it  is  apprehended  that  refusal  to  use  them 
may  induce  them  to  seek  employment  from  the  enemy,  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  suspend  your  resolution  concerning  them." 
Congress  thereupon  reconsidered  and  repealed  the  resolution. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth  Washington's  army  returns 
showed  755  colored  soldiers  present  for  duty,  being  about  a 
tenth  of  the  army.  In  1YY8  Phode  Island  passed  an  act 
enlisting  all  men  of  color  of  the  draft  age  with  a  provision 
that  those  who  were  slaves  should  be  free  from  the  time  of 
joining.     This   was   followed   by   Massachusetts   and    ISTew 


NEGEO    SOLDIERS  59 

York.  Sir  Henry  Clinton^  the  British  Commaiider-in-Chief, 
issued  a  proclamation  offering  bounties  to  all  negroes  who 
would  desert  to  his  standard,  which  was  also  done  by  Corn- 
wallis  and  Tarleton  in  the  South.  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  that 
this  action  had  cost  Virginia  30,000  able  bodied  slaves  in  one 
year.  To  meet  the  British  offer,  Madison,  Generals  Greene 
and  Lincoln,  and  other  leading  patriots  advocated  a  general 
recruiting  of  the  Continental  forces  by  offering  emancipation 
to  the  slaves.  This  was  not,  however,  generally  done,  but 
there  was  a  considerable  number  of  slaves  who  obtained  free- 
dom by  serving  as  substitutes  for  their  owners  or  their  sons 
in  the  army. 

In  the  War  of  1812  there  were  a  great  many  colored  men 
who  served  in  the  ranks,  thruout  the  country,  but  there  is  no 
available  record  that  at  that  time  any  slaves  in  the  South 
were  admitted  as  substitutes  or  otherwise  on  condition  of  free- 
dom. There  were  a  good  many  who  went  over  to  the  enemy 
on  condition  of  freedom,  and  two  battalions  of  negroes  served, 
at  'New  Orleans  under  Jackson.  In  New  York  two  regi- 
ments of  "freemen  of  color"  were  raised  to  receive  the 
same  pay  and  allowance  as  whites,  and  there  was  a  proviso 
that  "any  able  bodied  slave"  in  that  State  might  enlist  "with 
the  written  assent  of  his  master  and  mistress  who  were  to 
receive  his  pay,"  while  the  negro  was  to  be  set  free  on  his 
honorable  discharge.  After  the  battle  of  l^ew  Orleans  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Jackson,  in  his  proclamation,  bore  emphatic  tes- 
timony to  the  part  borne  by  negTO  troops  in  that  great  vic- 
tory and  their  bravery  and  good  conduct  during  their  service 
under  him.  The  British  had  two  regiments  of  West  India 
negToes  in  that  battle. 

During  the  Civil  War  180,000  negroes  served  in  the  Union 
Army.  Some  of  these  were  from  the  North,  and  served  either 
under  the  draft  or  as  volunteers,  but  by  far  the  gTcatest  part 
of  them  were  fugitive  slaves  who  served  in  northern  regi- 
ments, either  as  substitutes,  or  upon  payment  of  bounties  given 


60  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

by  townships  and  counties  in  the  l^orth  to  fill  up  their  re- 
quired quotas  under  the  draft. 

The  Confederate  government  was  asked  by  General  Lee 
in  the  fall  of  1864  to  conscript  slaves  as  soldiers,  offering  them 
freedom,  but  this  was  opposed  by  President  Davis  and  others, 
and  the  act  did  not  pass  till  February,  1865,  and  only  a  few 
companies  were  raised.  We  often  conscripted  free  negroes, 
and  sometimes  slaves,  to  build  forts  and  breastworks.  Those 
surrounding  Raleigh  were  thus  built. 

It  is  believed  that  with  very  rare  exceptions  the  colored 
Union  troops  in  the  Civil  War  served  as  separate  organiza- 
tions, as  now,  tho  officered  by  white  men.  This  was  true  dur- 
ing our  Spanish  War  in  1898.  This  State,  however,  which 
sent  two  regiments  of  white  soldiers  to  that  war,  sent  one 
regiment  of  colored  troops,  officered  entirely  by  colored  offi- 
cers, from  its  Colonel,  James  H.  Young,  down. 

In  the  United  States  Regular  Army,  ever  since  the  Civil 
War,  there  has  been  several  regiments  of  colored  troops,  but 
these  have  been  officered  entirely  by  white  men,  as  only  one 
colored  man  has  ever  graduated  at  West  Point. 

In  the  present  war  there  are  probably  200,000  colored 
troops  in  the  United  States  Army,  most  of  whom  have  white 
officers,  tho  there  are  some  company  officers  of  color.  The 
British  and  French  have  many  colored  troops,  of  whom  the 
Senegalese  are  exceptionally  brave.  It  is  related  that  when 
some  American  colored  troops  landed  at  a  French  port  they 
were  delighted  to  see  colored  troops  ashore,  and  commenced 
talking  to  them  in  English,  supposing  that  all  negroes  spoke 
our  tongue.  They  proved,  however,  to  be  troops  from  French 
Africa. 

The  conduct  of  the  negro  troops  has  generally  been  good  in 
peace,  as  well  as  in  war.  There  was  a  painful  exception  in 
the  emeute  at  Brownsville,  Texas,  some  years  ago,  and  also  in 
the  recent  riot  in  a  colored  regiment  at  San  Antonio,  for 
which  some  thirty  or  forty  of  the  colored  soldiers  were  hanged 


NEGEO    SOLDIERS  61 

by  the  govenunent  for  mutiny.  It  seems  that  on  both  occa- 
sions whiskey  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  trouble. 

The  history  of  our  wars  shows  that  colored  men,  when 
well  led  by  competent  officers,  have  always  shown  up  as  brave 
soldiers.  The  two  instances  named  of  misconduct  seem  to  be 
exceptions  to  their  general  good  conduct  and  orderly  behavior 
in  time  of  peace. 

What  is  said  above  refers  only  to  colored  slaves.  Those 
acquainted  with  our  Colonial  history  know,  however,  that 
there  were  many  Indian  slaves  in  the  Colonies,  especially  in 
'New  England,  and  some  of  them  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  and  not 
a  few  white  slaves.  The  latter  were  usually  sent  to  this 
country  from  Great  Britain  to  serve  out  a  sentence  for  crime 
and  sometimes  for  debt.  Among  these  white  slaves  was  the 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  a  ISTorth  Carolina  regiment,  who  on 
his  march  to  Germantown,  with  his  regiment  in  1777  was 
humiliated  by  being  recognized  and  claimed  in  Maryland  as 
a  slave,  he  having  escaped  thence  to  ^orth  Carolina  where  he 
had  served  an  honorable  career  and  risen  in  life.  Massachu- 
setts sold  most  of  her  Indian  slaves  in  the  West  Indies,  bring- 
ing in  return  cargoes  from  Guinea  of  Africans,  who  they  said 
were  better  adapted  for  work.  Among  those  who,  after  the 
Pequot  War,  Massachusetts  sold  to  the  West  Indies,  were  the 
wife  and  son  of  King  Philip,  the  former  being  the  daughter 
of  Massasoit,  who  had  been  the  best  friend  whom  the  Cclonists 
of  that  Province  had  ever  had,  and  who  had  rendered  the 
whites  notable  service. 

Probably  the  most  distinguished  colored  soldier  was  Gen- 
eral Thomas  Alexandre  Dumas  who  served  under  l^apoleon, 
and  at  one  time  was  commander  in  chief  of  the  army  of  the 
Eastern  Pyrenees.  He  was  the  son  af  a  West  India  negro 
mother,  and  to  his  son  Alexandre  Dumas  the  elder,  the 
famous  novelist,  we  are  indebted  for  the  famous  novels  "Monte 
Cristo,"  the  "Three  Muskeeters,"  with  its  famous  trio  Por- 
thos,  Athos,  and  Aramis,  and  the  greatest  of  all  D^Artaguan, 


62  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

"The  Forty-five  Guardsmen/'  and  others.     Hannibal  and  his 
Carthaginians  were  not  negToes,  though  from  Africa. 

The  free  negroes  voted  in  l^^orth  Carolina  till  1835,  and 
under  the  Federal  Constitution  three-fifths  of  the  slave  popu- 
lation was  taken  as  a  basis  in  the  apportionment  for  members 
of  CongTess.  Republican  disgust  at  finding  that  by  emanci- 
pation, which  made  negroes  freemen^  the  basis  was  changed 
and  twenty  new  me^mbers  of  Congress  had  been  given  to  the 
South,  is  said  to  have  been  a  strong  motive  for  passing  the 
XV  Amendment. 


ISrOETH    CAROIillSrA^S    DEAD  63 


NORTH  CAROLINA'S  DEAD 

At  the  unveiling  of  the  moniunent  and  statue  to  the  Con- 
federate dead  at  Morganton,  22  January,  1918,  the  address 
was  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Clark.  The  following  extract 
from  his  speech  is  of  more  than  passing  interest : 

As  against  2,850,000  men  in  ttie  Union  line,  the  Soutli,  first  and  last, 
was  able  to  send  to  the  front  about  650,000.  Of  these  North  Carolina 
sent  125,000,  or  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  whole  number.  Of  these, 
43,000  of  our  best  and  bravest,  being  one-third,  came  not  home  again. 

They  sleep  where  the  silver  Shenandoah  sweeps  along;  some  rest 
on  the  heights  at  Gettysburg ;  some  sleep  by  the  sounding  sea  at 
Charleston;  others  at  Vicksburg, 

"By  the  great  inland  river,  whence  the  fleets  of  iron  have  fled, 
And  the  green  grass  quivers  above  the  ranks  of  the  dead" ; 

on  the  plains  of  Chickamauga  and  where  the  Georgian  pines  are  bare ; 
around  Petersburg,  in  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy  and  where 
Potomac's  "breezes  answering  low  sooth  many  a  soldier's  endless 
sleep." 

Across  the  fields  of  yesterday  they  come  back  to  us,  as  we  knew 
and  remember  them,  in  all  the  splendor  of  their  young  manhood.  Age 
has  not  withered  them.  Time  and  trouble  have  not  touched  them. 
The  Roman  poet  said  that  it  was  "sweet  to  die  for  one's  country." 
It  was  glorious  for  them  to  pass  in  the  prime  of  their  powers,  with 
the  sunlight  of  victory  on  their  faces  and  fronting  the  morning. 
They  died  in  the  full  assurance  and  confident  hope  of  our  ultimate 
success.  They  saw  not  the  torn  and  tattered  battle  flags  furled  for- 
ever at  Appomattox.  The  bugle  did  not  ring  out  for  them,  as  for 
you,  the  final  call  to  stack  arms.  No  drums  beat  for  them  the 
retreat.  Their  ears  caught  only  the  sound  of  the  reveille.  They  live 
in  immortal  youth. 


64  THE  NOKTH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

OTHER  NORTH  CAROLINA  HEROINES 

By  Maky  Hilliard  Hinton 

During  these  exciting  and  troublous  times  of  the  world's 
existence  when  woman  is  constantly  engaged  in  the  service  of 
her  country,  helping  in  ways  heretofore  unknown,  giving 
freely  of  her  time  in  unstinted  service  and  keeping  her  purse 
ever  open,  it  will  be  interesting,  perhaps,  to  look  backward 
thru  the  pages  of  history  and  gather  notes  of  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  heroism  of  our  brave  and  loyal  women  patriots, 
whose  deeds  have  been  recorded,  and  whose  sufferings  show 
what  our  foremothers  endured,  that  they  may  inspire  us  to 
bear  nobly  whatever  trials  may  be  in  store.  While  they  were 
subjected  to  innumerable  privations  their  lot  seems  incom- 
parable with  the  barbarities  imposed  by  "the  fiery  Hun"  upon 
the  weaker  population  of  grief-stricken  Belgium  and  the 
devastated  regions  of  ISTorthern  France  and  Poland.  It  was 
with  the  British  and  Tories  we  were  waging  a  civilized  war, 
not  barbarians  whose  hearts  hesitate  at  no  cruelties.  That 
struggle  for  independence  fortunately  took  place  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  years  ago,  during  which  period  the  United 
States  of  America  have  developed  into  one  of  the  leading 
world  powers,  whereby  she  is  now  able  to  express  to  her  splen- 
did ally — France — the  gratitude  of  an  appreciative  people 
and  to  render  to  her  mother  country  the  duty  of  a  worthy 
offspring. 

l^orth  Carolina's  record  of  her  heroic  women  is  indeed 
meager,  and  many  of  her  heroines  are  known  by  name  only 
with  sparse  local  tradition  as  proof  their  bravery.  Of  quite 
a  number  just  one  brave  incident  can  be  cited,  which  can  be 
accepted  as  indicative  of  their  conduct  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  Among  the  latter  can  be  found  the  names  of 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Forbis,  Mrs.  Mary  Morgan,  Mrs.  Rachel 
Denny,  Mrs.  Sarah  Logan,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  McGraw,  Miss 
Ann  Fergus,  Mrs.  Margaret  Caruthers  and  Miss  Margaret 
McBride. 


OTHEE  NOETH  CAEOLINA  HEEOINES  65 

Caruthers,  in  The  Old  North  State  in  1776,  has  preserved 
their  records  from  oblivion,  but  since  that  rare  volume  has 
long  since  been  out  of  print  and  few  copies  are  to  be  found,  to 
give  these  noble  women  further  recognition,  this  brief  sketch 
is  presented  thru  the  columns  of  The  Booklet. 

Among  the  staunch  and  brave  patriots  who  were  mortally 
wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House  was  Colonel 
Arthur  Forbis.  In  that  same  engagement,  under  his  com- 
mand, was  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas  Wiley,  also  a  brave, 
unwavering  Whig,  who  was  wounded.  Possessing  similar 
loyalty  to  the  patriotic  cause,  Elizabeth  Forbis,  nee  Wiley, 
wife  of  Colonel  Forbis,  bore  with  fortitude  and  patience  her 
severe  and  continued  trials  and  sufferings.  Coming  from 
such  stock,  it  is  no  marvel  that  she  displayed  unusual  traits 
of  character,  of  which  the  following  is  illustrative. 

Several  days  after  the  Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House 
Thomas  Morgan,  who  lived  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  the 
Forbis  home,  found  wandering  on  his  premises  two  horses 
whose  "bobbed  tails"  showed  that  they  were  the  property  of 
the  British  and  Tories,  since  the  horses  of  the  American  cav- 
alry were  distinguished  from  that  of  the  enemy  by  having 
long  tails.  These  he  felt  he  had  a  right  to  appropriate,  for 
the  British  and  Tories  had  seized  all  available  property  of 
the  Whigs. 

Mr.  Morgan,  knowing  that  Mrs.  Forbis  was  now  in  dire 
need  of  a  horse  and  in  a  destitute  condition,  presented  her 
with  one  the  morning  following.  Colonel  Forbis  was  either 
dead  or  dying  of  his  wounds ;  the  Tories  had  cleared  the  plan- 
tation of  almost  all  cattle,  provisions,  gTain,  etc. ;  her  eldest 
boy  was  a  mere  lad  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  and  could 
only  plough  a  gentle  animal,  her  sole  means  of  making  a  crop. 
This  gift  she  accepted  thankfully  and  immediately  put  her 
son  to  the  plough  handle.  However,  on  the  next  day  as  he 
was  turning  furrows  in  a  corn  field  and  the  mother  was  drop- 
ping corn  after  the  plough  and  covering  it  with  a  hoe,  two 


6Q  THE    NORTH    CAEOLHSTA    BOOKLET 

jGTing  men  appeared  on  the  scene  and  demanded  the  return 
of  the  horse  then  in  the  plough,  one  claiming  it  was  his  own. 
Mrs.  Forbis  did  not  dream  the  men  were  from  the  British 
Army,  then  thirty  or  forty  miles  south  of  that  locality  on  the 
way  to  Wilmington.  With  this  demand  she  flatly  refused  to 
comply.  It  was  repeated  two  or  three  times,  she  still  refus- 
ing to  obey,  when  he  ordered  the  lad  to  take  the  horse  from 
the  plough.  She  forbade  her  son  to  do  so,  he  standing  reso- 
lute, looking  from  her  to  the  enemy,  respecting  the  one  and 
fearing  the  other,  but  obeying  the  mother.  Thereupon  the 
man  stepped  forward  to  unfasten  the  traces  himself,  and 
instantly  she  sprang  in  front  of  him,  with  a  hoe  raised  high 
above  her  head,  and  with  a  firm  expression  and  determined 
manner,  declared  that  if  he  touched  the  horse  "she  would 
split  his  head  with  the  hoe."  This  act  produced  the  desired 
effect — the  horse  remained  in  her  plough  and  was  never  mo- 
lested again. 

Mrs.  Forbis  lived  to  enjoy  the  independence  of  her  country 
many  years,  attaining  an  honorable  old  age,  noted  for  her 
cheerful  disposition  and  as  a  warm-hearted  Christian  char- 
acter. 

Of  Colonel  Forbis'  sister  and  near  neighbor,  Mrs.  Mary 
Morgan,  wife  of  Thomas  Morgan,  this  daring  feat  is  related : 

At  the  time  the  British  Army  was  encamped  on  the  south 
side  of  South  Buffalo  Creek,  the  same  side  on  which  Thomas 
Morgan  lived,  on  the  plantation  of  Ralph  Gorrell,  Esq.,  and 
from  this  camp  one  day  a  party  sallied  forth  bent  on  plunder, 
taking  in  Colonel  Paisley's  plantation  and  later  the  Morgan 
home,  in  the  absence  of  the  owner,  only  Mrs.  Morgan  and  her 
little  brood  being  present.  As  the  place  had  frequently 
experienced  visitations  of  marauding  soldiers  but  little  could 
be  found.  Still  they  ransacked  the  dwelling  from  cellar  to 
garret,  as  well  as  the  kitchen  and  smoke-house,  corn-crib  and 
barn,  leaving  naught  in  their  wake.  In  the  interval  Mrs. 
Morgan's  active  mind  was  at  work  and  the  thought  occurred 
to  her  to  retaliate  by  removing  the  valise  from  the  saddle  of 


OTHER    NOETH    CAEOLIXA    HEEOINES  67 

the  commanding  officer  and  dropping  it  in  an  inside  corner 
of  the  fence  among  the  tall  weeds,  a  few  panels  below  the 
horse  from  which  it  was  taken.  As  they  prepared  to  leavo 
the  sun  had  nearly  reached  the  horizon,  and  five  or  six  miles 
lay  between  them  and  their  camp,  there  was  considerable 
hurry  and  confusion  which  caused  the  officer  in  command  to 
overlook  the  loss  of  his  valise.  On  opening  it,  Mrs.  Morgan 
found  it  to  be  filled  with  fine  linen  shirts,  collars,  cravats,  and 
other  articles  which  in  value  far  exceeded  that  which  she  had 
lost. 

The  true  Irish  wit  displayed  by  Mrs.  Rachel  Denny  has 
amused  many  a  listener.  She  was  the  wife  of  Walter  Denny, 
a  strict  elderly  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian,  who  dwelt  far 
down  on  l!Torth  Buffalo  Creek,  as  staunch  in  his  Whig  princi- 
ples as  true  to  his  religious  faith  and  highly  esteemed  thru- 
out  the  neighborhood.  During  his  absence  from  home  when 
the  British  Army  was  near  by,  a  foraging  party  under  com- 
mand of  the  proper  officer  invaded  his  home,  pillaging  every 
repository  of  his  possession.  During  this  trying  ordeal  the 
old  lady,  his  wife,  sat  by  utterly  helpless  in  the  presence  of  the 
commanding  officer,  who  sat  near  amusing  himself  with  her. 
Thus  she  saw  flour,  meat  and  meal  as  well  as  blankets  she 
had  made  with  her  own  hands  seized  by  ruthless  hands.  The 
officer  began  by  asking  her  where  her  husband  was,  to  which 
she  replied  she  did  not  know.  If  she  did  know  would  she 
tell,  was  the  next  question.  Kindly  she  said  "ISTo,  and  no 
gentleman  of  honorable  feelings  would  ever  ask  or  expect 
such  a  thing."  When  asked  if  she  was  not  afraid  that  he 
would  be  caught  and  hung  as  a  rebel,  she  replied,  "as  he  was 
engaged  in  a  good  cause,  he  was  in  good  hands,  and  she  hoped 
he  would  be  protected."  After  cursing  her  most  profanely 
he  informed  her  he  thought  "the  women  in  that  part  of  the 
country  as  damned  rebels  as  the  men,  and  that  one-half  of 
them,  at  least,  ought  to  be  shot  or  hung."  To  all  this  she 
did  not  reply. 

Spying  a  Bible  and  a  hymn-book  on  the  table,  he  exclaimed 


68  THE  NOETH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

that  he  presumed  "the  old  man  prayed  every  day  in  his 
family."  To  this  Mrs.  Denny  added  that  when  at  home 
they  usually  had  family  prayers.  "Well^  does  he  ever  pray 
for  King  George  ?"  followed  in  a  sneering,  haughty  air.  She 
gave  an  indirect  answer.  He  then  told  her  emphatically  she 
must  tell  him  "He  must  pray  for  King  George."  Very  indif- 
ferently she  replied  that  perhaps  a  good  man  might  pray  for 
the  salvation  of  his  soul,  "not  for  the  success  of  his  arms ; 
for  he  had  sinned  so  long  and  so  much  that  there  was  very- 
little  encouragement  to  pray  even  for  his  salvation^,  and  to 
pray  for  the  success  of  his  arms  when  they  were  employed  to 
oppress  and  to  enforce  obedience  to  unrighteous  authority, 
would  be  praying  in  direct  opposition  to  thei  instructions  of 
the  Bible,  which  would  be  offensive  to  God  as  it  would  be 
useless  to  man."  Whereupon  the  officer  told  her  that  her 
husband  must  pray  for  the  king  or  be  treated  as  a  rebel. 
"Ah,  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Denny,  "he  has  been  denounced  as 
a  rebel  long  ago,  and  no  thanks  to  you  nor  King  George  either 
that  he  still  lives  to  defend  his  country."  "Well,"  he  re- 
plied, "do  you  tell  him  that  he  must  pray  for  King  George 
tonight,  for  I  intend  to  come  or  send  men  to  ascertain,  and 
if  he  does  not,  I  will  have  him  taken  and  hung  up  to  the  limb 
of  that  oak  tree  in  the  yard."  "Aye,  fa'th,"  retorted  the 
brave  old  dame,  with  consummate  nonchalance,  "Aye,  fa'th, 
an'  monny  a  prayer  has  been  wasted  upon  King  George." 

The  young  Lieutenant,  baffled,  summoned  his  men  as  the 
sun  was  fast  sinking  in  the  west  and  quickly  galloped  back  to 
camp,  taking  with  them  considerable  plunder,  but  by  no 
means  all  of  Mr.  Denny's  abundance. 

During  the  stormy  days  of  the  Revolution  the  women  were 
just  as  willing  as  the  men  to  suffer  and  share  privations  with 
them.  The  country  being  thinly  settled,  they  were  much 
isolated  and  had  to  face  innumerable  perils.  Frequently  the 
quick  wit  and  ready,  proper  word  of  some  intelligent  woman 
achieved  a  decided  triumph.  To  this  class  could  be  assigned 
Mrs.  Sarah  Logan,  noted  for  her  repartee,  excellent  sense  and 


OTHEE  NORTH  CAROLINA  HEROINES  69 

kindness  of  heart,  and  who  was  universally  esteemed.  She 
was  a  native  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  though  after  her  marriage 
she  lived  in  South  Carolina,  near  the  dividing  line.  Many 
incidents  occurred  that  testified  to  her  patriotism,  judgment, 
character  and  ready  wit.  This  one  related  here  in  particular 
is  illustrative  of  her  varied  experiences. 

One  morning  in  l^ovemher  when  the  air  was  cold  and 
frosty  four  or  five  Tories  swooped  down  upon  her  home  in  the 
absence  of  her  husband.  They  were  known  to  her  by  sight 
and  name,  though  they  were  not  of  her  class.  She  spied 
them  as  soon  as  they  entered  the  lane  and  at  once  guessed 
their  purpose.  She  instantly  resolved  to  devise  some  scheme 
by  which  to  safeguard  her  property  against  their  pillage. 

They  rode  up  and  hitched  their  horses  to  the  fence  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  house  and  entered  without  ceremony.  Mrs. 
Logan  feigTied  a  cordial  welcome  and  invited  them  to  be 
seated,  adding  that  such  cold  weather,  after  a  long  ride,  they 
must  be  cold  and  insisted  on  their  sitting  nearer  the  fire,  on 
which  she  had  more  wood  piled.  She  inquired  of  the  health 
of  their  families,  of  the  neighborhood ;  in  fact,  received  these 
avowed  enemies  bent  on  pillage  as  graciously  as  though  they 
were  friends.  She  apologized  for  the  upturned  state  of  her 
house,  claiming  that  her  duties  of  housecleaning  had  been 
neglected  for  a  sick  child  and  was  just  so  engaged  as  they 
approached,  that  if  they  would  excuse  her  giving  annoyance 
she  would  proceed  and  finish  in  two  or  three  minutes.  She 
swept  vigorously,  raising  a  cloud  of  dust.  She  next  began 
making  up  the  bed,  beating  the  feathers  and  seizing  sheets  and 
bedspread  and  blankets,  taking  each  at  a  time,  she  stood  on 
the  door-step  and  shook  them  violently,  making  a  great  noise 
and  flutter  as  each  spread  out  on  the  breeze.  The  horses 
became  alarmed,  one  broke  loose,  then  another,  until  all  sev- 
ered their  bridles  and  galloped  in  every  direction.  The 
Tories,  realizing  that  their  steeds  were  more  valuable  thtm  any 
plunder  to  be  procured  at  the  Logans',  took  to  their  heels  in 
hot  pursuit,  catching,  as  they  bolted,  Mrs.  Logan's  regrets — 


70  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

"very  sorry" — "-wiiat  a  pity."  Thus  kindness  proved  of  more 
service  than  the  sword  or  a  sharp  retort. 

There  lived  in  Surry  County^  near  Mount  Airy^  during 
the  "Old  War"  (as  the  old  people  termed  the  Revolution ) 
Mrs  Eliabeth  McGrav^.  She  v^as  prior  to  her  marriage  to 
Jacob  McGraw  a  Miss  Waller,  daughter  of  George  Waller  of 
Henry  County,  Virginia.  Both  she  and  her  husband  were 
staunch  Whigs;  therefore  their  home  was  naturally  an  objec- 
tive point  with  the  bands  of  Tories  scouring  that  section. 
Still  an  account  of  on©  raid  is  handed  down  in  that  locality. 
It  occurred  on  a  bitterly  cold  night  when  Jacob  McGraw 
was  away  from  home  and  his  wife  was  the  sole  white  person 
on  the  place.  When  she  ascertained  they  were  approaching 
she  made  all  the  negroes  who  could  leave  run  and  seek  some 
hiding  place,  and  in  the  meantime  she  engaged  busily  in 
wrapping  the  pickaninnies  in  the  tow  that  had  been  hackled 
from  flax  that  day,  dressed  and  secreted  them  in  a  closet,  just 
finishing  as  the  Tories  burst  into  the  house.  They  searched 
the  place  from  top  to  bottom,  but,  strange  to  say,  missed  locat- 
ing the  little  negi'oes  concealed  in  the  tow.  They  appro- 
priated all  valuables  and  lastly  took  from  the  cupboard  Mrs. 
McGraw's  shining  pewter  plates.  Thru  the  rims  of  each 
they  bored  holes  and  ran  a  hickory  withe  which  they  carried 
along  with  them.  Years  after  Mrs.  McGraw  had  the  pecu- 
liar experience  of  taking  dinner  at  a  neighbor's  when  the 
meal  was  served  from  her  own  pewter  plates  with  holes  in  the 
rims.  She  attained  a  great  age,  dying  near  Mount  Airy  in 
1836. 

Even  amid  the  horrors  of  war  people  can  and  do  relax 
from  their  responsibilities  and  sufferings  long  enough  to 
engage  in  diverting  festivities,  better  perhaps  for  the  change. 
During  Major  Craig's  occupancy  of  Wilmington  he  and  his 
officers  attended  many  balls  and  other  entertainments.  Tra- 
dition still  keeps  alive  in  New  Hanover  amusing  things  that 
took  place  at  these  social  affairs.  One  anecdote,  though  ludi- 
crous, that  has  not  been  lost,  concerned  Miss  Ann  Fergus,  a 


OTHER    NORTH    CAROLINA    HEROINES  Yl 

lass  of  a  wealthy  Scotch  family  of  fine  social  standing.  She 
possessed  a  superior  intellect,  was  well  educated.  Exceed- 
ingly tall — five  feet  ten  inches — but  when  wearing  the  high 
heel  slippers  of  that  period,  as  she  would  have  done  at  a  ball, 
she  must  have  measured  fully  six  feet.  One  of  her  brothers 
was  in  the  Patriot  Army,  possibly  also  a  lover.  One  evening 
she  attended  a  ball  at  which  a  number  of  British  officers  were 
present.  Among  them  was  an  exceedingly  diminutive  man, 
full  of  conceit^  who  was  most  persistent  in  his  attentions  to 
the  American  ladies^  being  both  impertinent  and  presumptu- 
ous, as  his  conduct  to  Miss  Fergus  proved.  During  the  even- 
ing he  sought  her  out  and  asked  for  a  kiss.  With  all  serious- 
ness and  perhaps  hauteur  she  replied  "Yes,  he  might  have 
one,  if  he  could  take  one  without  getting  upon  a  stool." 
Whereupon  he  tiptoed  and  stretched  his  neck  and  she  drew 
herself  up  to  her  full  height,  and  he  "^couldn't  come  it."  The 
whole  company  present  were  intensely  amused  at  so  ludicrous 
a  spectacle.  Ridicule  caused  his  instant  flight  as  well  as 
brought  to  an  end  his  attentions  to  American  belles. 

It  is  not  often  that  a  woman  possesses  such  spirit  of  daring 
and  bravery  that  she  is  willing  to  attack  an  enemy  of  the 
other  sex,  assuming  the  role  of  aggressor.  Of  such  type  was 
Mrs.  Margaret  (Gillespie)  Caruthers^  a  native  of  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania,  who  settled  with  her  husband,  James 
Caruthers,  in  middle  !N^orth  Carolina  some  time  prior  to  the 
Revolution.  Her  family  included  four  sons  and  several 
daughters,  all  eventually  becoming  useful  citizens  and  church 
members.  Three  of  her  sons  served  in  the  Revolution.  The 
eldest,  Robert,  being  a  partisan  leader,  won  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain and  was  very  active,  being  almost  always  on  duty.  The 
youngest,  who  was  retained  at  home  to  protect  his  parents 
and  attend  to  the  farm,  met  death  at  the  hands  of  Tories  dis- 
guised as  Indians,  as  strong  circumstantial  evidence  proved. 
His  dead  body  was  found  by  a  creek  on  the  plantation  almost 
in  sight  of  the  house.  He  had  gone  to  a  neighbor's,  two  miles 
distant  on  an  errand.     The  report  of  a  gun  drew  his  mother 


72  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

and  sisters  to  tlie  spot  to  find  Mni  dead,  scalped  with  a  bloody 
knife  bearing  the  name  of  a  neighbor,  lying  near  his  head. 
Ever  after  when  the  said  neighbor  met  a  member  of  the 
family  his  countenance  expressed  guilt  and  he  manifestly 
shunned  them.  Thus  deprived  of  her  main  support,  with  her 
husband,  not  infirm  but  passed  the  draftable  age,  compelled 
for  safety  to  conceal  himself,  she  found  herself  unprotected, 
especially  during  the  trying  year  of  1Y80.  Her  wonderful 
self-possession  never  failed  her  in  time  of  danger.  Her 
firmness  and  energy  of  character,  combined  with  the  "spirit 
of  '76,"  rendered  her  far  from  helpless  in  emergencies. 

I^ot  long  after  the  tragedy  just  recounted,  two  Tories, 
neighbors,  came  to  plunder  her  premises.  They  at  once  at- 
tempted to  steal  a  fine  young  black  mare,  of  unusual  beauty 
and  splendid  qualities,  which  they  brought  out  and  hitched  to 
a  shade  tree  on  the  west  side  of  the  house."  After  packing  up 
all  provisions,  blankets,  etc.,  to  be  found  in  the  house  they 
entered  the  corn-crib  to  fill  their  bags  with  corn.  The  quaint 
form  of  crib  of  that  day  had  an  opening  thru  which  a  man 
must  thrust  one  leg,  next  his  head  "and  with  his  body  laid 
beside  the  projecting  leg  force  himself  thru,  with  the  other 
leg  resting  on  the  floor,  and,  at  the  same  time,  as  it  was 
raised  a  foot  or  two  above  the  ground,  held  by  the  side  with 
the  left  hand  lest  when  the  center  of  gravity  passed  the  sill, 
he  might  go  faster  and  further  than  he  wanted."  The  thieves 
were  busy  over  their  grain  when  Mrs.  Caruthers  hid  the  black 
mare  in  the  cellar,  locking  the  door.  Then  she  took  a  stick 
of  hickory,  intended  for  an  axe-handle,  laid  by  to  season  in 
the  chimney  corner,  twice  the  size  of  a  dressed  article,  which 
she  concealed  under  her  apron  and  stood  at  the  corner  of  the 
crib.  As  each  appeared  she  beat  upon  him  so  successfully 
that  he  could  neither  defend  himself  nor  return  the  blows, 
and  both  fled  in  haste,  leaving  their  plunder  behind  and  never 
again  did  they  dare  to  enter  the  Caruthers  home. 

The  name  of  Betsy  Dowdy  is  universally  known  and  her 
bravery  can  never  be  forgotten,  while  the  name  of  Margaret 


OTHEK  NORTH  CAROLINA  HEROINES  Y3 

McBride  is  familiar  to  comparatively  few  and  of  the  service 
rendered  her  country  little  is  known.  As  her  surname  im- 
plies she  was  of  a  Scotch-Irish  family.  Hanty  McBride,  a 
resident  of  Gruilford^  was  a  man  of  good  standing  in  the  neigh- 
borhood where  he  lived  and  died,  some  seven  or  eight  miles 
south  of  Greensboro,  midway  between  Alamance  and  Buffalo 
creeks.  He  was  a  member  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  congregation, 
and  a  true  Whig.  Too  old  for  military  duty,  he  served  his 
country  when  possible.  His  large  family  was  comprised  of 
nearly  all  daughters.  Of  one  son,  Isaiah,  the  oldest,  we 
learn  that  he  was  in  several  campaigns. 

In  1781  Margaret,  or  Maggie,  as  her  family  and  neigh- 
bors called  her,  was  a  pretty  lass  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  sum- 
mers and  well  grown  for  her  years.  She  was  full  of  life,  but 
discreet  and  had  the  courage  to  express  her  convictions. 
With  winsome  ways  and  abounding  enthusiasm,  she  was  nat- 
urally a  favorite.  She  gloried  in  being  a  Whig  and  hated 
the  Tories.  A  certain  tract  of  land  four  or  five  miles  wide, 
ten  or  twelve  in  length,  between  N^orth  and  South  Buffalo 
creeks,  lay  to  the  north  and  northwest  of  Hantz  McBride's. 
This  included  the  present  site  of  Greensboro  and  ran  along 
both  sides  of  the  Hillsboro  road  to  Buffalo  Bridge.  This  was 
not  inhabited  and  was  traversed  only  by  roads  connecting  the 
two  settlements.  As  pine  was  the  principal  growth  it  was 
called  the  "Pine  Woods,"  or  ''Pine  Barrens."  People  did 
not  settle  there  because  the  land  was  considered  too  thin.  It 
afforded  fine  pasturage  for  cattle.  At  intervals  rich  and  well- 
watered  glades  existed  like  oases  of  the  desert.  In  the  first 
days  of  autumn,  1Y81,  a  band  of  Tories  from  southern  Guil- 
ford or  northern  Randolph  pitched  camp  in  one  of  these  fairy 
dells.  The  Whigs  were  thick  on  the  outskirts  of  the  "Bar- 
rens" and  some  were  wavering.  These  the  Tories  in  question 
visited  and  exerted  no  good  influence  over  them.  The  true  Pa- 
triots became  uneasy— something  must  be  done,  and  accord- 
ingly a  band  bent  on  retaliation  was  organized,  though  none 
knew  the  exact  location  of  the  camp.     It  was  thought  that  the 


74  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

McBrides  knew  of  it  if  any  one  did,  so  to  that  home  they 
repaired  one  evening  just  after  dark.  Hantz  McBride,  of 
course,  was  absent,  the  mother,  Maggie  and  other  children 
were  there.  The  captain,  after  ascertaining  they  were 
staunch  Whigs,  inquired  whether  there  was  a  Tory  camp  in 
the  "Piney  Woods."  She  understood  there  was.  When 
asked  for  directions  to  find  it,  she  answered  as  intelligently 
and  as  best  she  could,  little  Maggie  by  her  side  now  then 
adding  a  word  of  explanation.  The  captain  observed  her 
interest  and  said  courteously,  "Well,  now,  my  little  Miss, 
could  you  go  along  to  show  us  the  way  ?"  This  startled  her. 
Objections  she  urged — going  off  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  all 
strangers ;  then  the  fighting,  etc.  The  captain  insisted.  She 
reckoned  she  might  go;  they  must  promise  not  to  fire  on  the 
Tories  till  she  left  them.  They  consented,  so  she  mounted 
behind  the  commander  and  they  rode  off  at  full  speed.  It 
was  agreed  that  she  should  remain  with  the  band  until  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  place,  when  she  was  to  fly  back  home,  it 
being  impossible  for  her  to  be  taken  into  the  battle  in  the 
darkness.  She  was  firm  in  her  determination  to  render  this 
invaluable  service  to  the  Whigs,  and  never  faltered  when  so 
much  was  at  stake.  The  spot  was  familiar  to  her  as  she  had 
frequently  been  there  when  hunting  the  cows  on  sunnner 
evenings  with  the  other  children. 

As  they  approached  the  camp  near  enough  for  the  sound  of 
the  horses'  feet  to  be  heard,  they  proceeded  with  gTeat  caution 
and  Margaret  McBride  was  straining  her  eyes  and  craning 
her  neck  to  ascertain  the  exact  spot.  Finally  she  exclaimed, 
"Yonder  they  are,"  and  sprang  from  the  captain's  horse, 
returning  home  with  the  agility  of  a  native  of  the  forest. 
As  soon  as  she  alighted  on  the  ground  the  party  dashed  for- 
ward at  a  gallop,  took  the  camp  by  surprise,  firing  a  good 
volley  as  a  greeting  on  approach.  Before  the  brave  little 
heroine  had  passed  over  much  ground,  she  heard  the  report 
of  twenty  or  thirty  pistols  and  the  clash  of  sabres,  with 
shouts  of  victory  and  cries  of  the  assailed,  all  of  which  made 


OTHER    jSTOBTH    CAROLINA    HEROINES  75 

her  run  but  the  faster.  On  reaching  home  she  proudly  in- 
formed her  mother  that  "those  miserable  Tories  have  got  a 
lesson  tonight  which  they  will  not  soon  forget,  and  I  hope 
they  will  no  longer  be  a  pest  and  a  reproach  to  the  country." 
"Why,  my  daughter,"  replied  Mrs.  McBride,  "You  didn't 
stay  to  see  what  was  done  ?"  "Why,  mother,  as  soon  as  we 
came  in  sight,  I  jumped  down  and  started  back  as  hard  as  I 
could,  but  I  had  come  a  very  little  distance— it  didn't  seem 
to  be  a  minute — till  I  heard  ever  so  many  guns,  and  then  such 
slashing  and  hallooing — you  never  heard  the  like.  I  just 
know  the  ugly  things  are  used  up,  and  we  shall  now  be  clear 
of  them.  Well,  I  do  feel  sorry  for  them  after  all — really 
sorry.  Just  think  how  they  will  be  cut  up  and  run  off  like  as 
many  sheep-killing  dogs ;  but  th^en  they  had  no  business  to  be 
Tories.  If  they  are  so  mean  and  pusillanimous  that  they 
want  to  be  slaves  or  foot-pads  to  King  George,  let  them  not 
stay  here  and  try  to  make  us  as  degTaded  as  themselves,  but 
go  to  his  own  country  and  serve  him  there.  We  have  no  use 
for  them  here  and  I  am  so  glad  they  are  gone." 

The  Tory  den  was  completely  broken  up.  All  that  were 
not  killed  fled,  and  henceforth  the  "Pine  Barrens"  of  Guil- 
ford knew  neither  them  nor  their  like  again. 

When  Margaret  McBride  grew  to  womanhood  a  few  years 
later  she  married  and,  with  her  husband,  moved  westward 
with  the  tide  of  emigration  that  laid  the  foundation  of  some 
of  our  great  States  of  today,  and  nothing  was  known  of  this 
brave  heroine  of  old  Guilford. 

ITorth  Carolina  can  well  be  proud  of  her  women  from  the 
earliest  days  when  the  hardships  and  perils  of  life  led  by  the 
first  settlers  in  the  wilderness  were  patiently  borne,  during 
the  stormy  times  of  the  Revolution,  of  the  War  between  the 
States  and,  lastly,  of  the  response  they  are  giving  to  the 
demands  of  this  present-day  world  conflict. 


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Vol.  xvni 


OCTOBER,  1918 


No.  2 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


GREAT  EVENTS 

IN 

NORTH  CAROLINA 
HISTORY 


PUBLISHED  QUARTERLY 
BY 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 
RALEIGH.  N.  C. 


CONTENTS 

History  of  the  Superior  and  Supreme  Courts  of  North 

Carolina — _    79 

By  Chief  Justice  Waltee  Clakk 

William  Bryan  of  Craven  County,  Brigadier-General  in 

the  American  Revolution 105 

By  WnxiAM  Hollisteb 

For  Whom  Was  Edgecombe  County  Named? 116 

By  Gaston  Lichtenstein 

Biographical  and  Geneological  Memoranda 120 

By  Mes.  E.  E.  Moffitt 


SINGLE  NUMBERS  35  CENTS 


$1.00  THE  YEAR 


Entered  at  the  Posloffice  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  July  15,  1905.  under  the  Act  of 
Congress  of  March  3,  1 879 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 


Great  Events  in  North  Carolina  History 


Volume  XVIII  of  The  Booklet  will  be  issued  quarterly  by  the 
North  Carolina  Society,  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  beginning  July, 
1918.  The  Booklet  will  be  published  in  July,  October,  January,  and 
April.    Price  $1.00  per  year,  35  cents  for  single  copy. 

Editoe  : 
Miss  Maby  Hn.LiARP  Hinton. 

BiOGEAPHicAi.  Editor: 
Mbs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

VOLUME  XVIII. 

Isaac  Shelby,  Part  II — Dr.  Archibald  Henderson. 

Other  North  Carolina  Heroines :  Margaret  McBride,  Mary  Morgan, 
Elizabeth  McCraw,  Elizabeth  Forbes,  Margaret  Caruthers,  Ann  Fer- 
gus, Rachel  Denny — Mary  Hilliard  Hinton. 

The  History  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina — ^Major  William  A. 
Graham. 

North  Carolina's  Poetesses,  Past  and  Present — ^Nina  Holland  Cov- 
ington. 

Calvin  Jones:  Physician,  Soldier  and  Freemason — Marshall  De- 
Lancey  Haywood. 

Reminiscences  of  Shocco  and  Jones  Springs — Old-fashioned  North 
Carolina  Summer  Resorts. 

History  of  Orange  County,  Part  II — Frank  Nash. 

Woman's  War  Work: 

(a)  Woman's  Contribution  to  the  Patriot  Cause. 

(b)  Woman's  Service  in  the  War  Between  the  States — Martha 

H.  Haywood. 

History  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina. 

General  William  R.  Davie's  Mission  to  France. 

Brief  Historical  Notes  will  appear  from  time  to  time  in  The 
Booklet,  information  that  is  worthy  of  preservation,  but  which  if  not 
preserved  in  a  permanent  form  will  be  lost. 

Historical  Book  Reviews  will  be  contributed  by  Mrs.  Nina  Holland 
Covington.  These  will  -  be  reviews  of  the  latest  historical  works 
written  by  North  Carolinians. 

The  Genealogical  Department  will  be  continued  with  a  page  devoted 
to  Genealogical  Queries  and  Answers  as  an  aid  to  genealogical 
research  in  the  State. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  Colonial  Dames  of  America  will  fur- 
nish copies  of  unpublished  records  for  publication  in  The  Booklet. 

Biographical  Sketches  will  be  continued  under  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt 

Old  Letters,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  different  periods  of  North  Carolina  History,  will  appear  here- 
after in  The  Booklet. 

This  list  of  subjects  may  be  changed,  as  circumstances  sometimes 
prevent  the  writers  from  keeping  their  engagements. 

The  histories  of  the  separate  counties  will  in  the  future  be  a 
special  feature  of  The  Booklet.  When  necessary,  an  entire  issue 
will  be  devoted  to  a  paper  on  one  county. 

Parties  who  wish  to  renew  their  subscriptions  to  The  Booklet 
for  Vol.  XVIII  are  requested  to  give  notice  at  once. 

Many  numbers  of  Volumes  I  to  XVII  for  sale. 

For  particulars  address 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 

Editor  North  Carolina  Booklet, 
"Midway  Plantation,"  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Vol.  XVni  OCTOBER,  1918  No.  2 


'(She 

North  Carolina  Booklet 


'Carolina  I  Carolina  I  Heaven's  blessings  attend  her  I 
While  7ve  live  zve  will  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her' 


Published  by 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  object  of  The  Booklet  is  to  aid  in  developing  and  preserving 
North  Carolina  History.  The  proceeds  arising  from  its  publication 
will  be  devoted  to  patriotic  purposes.  Editor. 


EALEIGH 

COMMEBCIAI-  PRINTING   COMPANY 

PRINTERS   AND  BINDERS 


ADVISORY  BOARD  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


Mbs.  Hubert  Haywood. 
Mbs.  E,  E.  Moffitt. 
Mb.  R.  D.  W.  Conkob. 
De.  D.  H.  Hill. 
Db.  William  K.  Boyd. 
Capt.  S.  a.  Ashe. 
Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fbies. 


Miss  Maetha  Helen  Haywood. 

Db.  Richabd  Dillabd. 

Db.  Kemp  P,  Battle. 

Mb.  James  Spbunt. 

Mb.  Marshall  DeLancey  Haywood. 

Chief  Justice  Walteb  Clabk. 

Majob  W.  a.  Gbaham. 


Db.  Chables  Lee  Smith. 

EDITOB  : 

Miss  Maby  Hilliabd  Hinton. 
biogbaphical  editor  : 
Mbs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

1918-1919 


Mbs.  Marshall  Williams, 
Regent,  Faison. 

Mbs.  E.  E.  Moffitt,  Honorary 
Regent,  Richmond,  Va. 

Mbs.  Thomas  K.  Bbuner, 
Honorary  Regent,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 
1st  Vice-Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  2d  Vice- 
Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  P.  Pell,  Recording 
Secretary,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Winifred  Faison,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  Faison. 


Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Historian, 

Faison. 
Mrs.  Charles  Lee  Smith, 

Treasurer,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  George  Ramsey,  Registrar, 

Raleigh. 
Mrs.  John  E.  Ray,  Custodian  of 

Relics,  Raleigh. 
Mbs.  Laurence  Covington, 

Executive  Secretary,  Raleigh. 
Mrs  Charles  Wales, 

Genealogist,  Edenton. 
Miss  Catherine  Albertson, 

Junior  Director,  Elizabeth  City. 


CHAPTER  REGENTS 

Bloomsbury  Chapter Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  Regent. 

Penelope  Barker  Chapter ,  Regent. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Chapter Mrs.  I.  M.  Meekins,  Regent. 

General  Francis  Nash  Chapter Miss  Rebecca  Cameron,  Regent. 

Roanoke  Chapter Mrs.  F.  M.  Allen,  Regent. 

Mary  Slocumb  Chapter Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Regent. 

Colonel  Thomas  Robeson  Chapter Mrs.  Annie  Buie,  Regent 

Tuscarora  Chapter Mes.  C.  H.  Hunter,  Regent. 


Founder  of  the  Nobth  Carolina  Society  and  Regent  1896-1902 : 

Mrs.  SPIER  WHITAKER.* 

Regent  1902: 

Mrs.  D.  H.  HILL,  Sb.I 

Regent  1902-1906: 

Mbs.  THOMAS  K.  BRUNER. 

Regent  1906-1910: 

Mbs.  E.  E.  MOFFITT. 

Regent  1910-1917: 

Miss  MARY  HILLIARD  HINTON. 


•Died  November  25, 1911. 
tDied  December  12. 1904. 


Chief  Justice  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina. 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Vol.  XVIII  OCTOBER,  1918  No.  2 

History  of  the  Superior  and  Supreme  Courts 
of  North  Carolina 

By  Chief  Justice  Walter  Clabk 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  our  republican  form  of  government 
in  1776  we  liad  for  the  colony  a  supreme  common  law  and 
equity  court,  styled  "The  Greneral  Court/'  which  was  a  trial 
court.  There  was  no  court  of  appeals.  The  presiding  officer 
of  this  was  styled  Chief  Justice,  who  presided  with  an  indefi- 
nite number  of  assistants  who  were  laymen.  They  were 
probably  merely  advisers,  for  there  was  no  statute  defining 
their  powers.  When  the  Lords  Proprietors  met  at  the  Cock- 
pit in  London  on  21  October,  1669,  under  the  fanciful  Con- 
stitution drawn  up  by  the  famous  John  Locke,  they  chose 
Anthony  Ashley  Cooper,  afterwards  the  famous  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  as  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  first  Chief  Justice 
of  this  colony.  This  was  an  honorary  appointment,  and  he 
named  as  his  representative  John  Willoughby  as  the  first 
Chief  Justice  in  this  colony. 

The  first  record  that  we  have  of  any  general  court  is  that 
held  in  1694,  at  the  house  of  Thomas  White,  tho  there  must 
have  been  sessions  in  the  years  prior  thereto.  The  Chief 
Justice  at  that  time  was  also  Governor,  Thomas  Harvey. 
This  court  held  jurisdiction  of  criminal  and  common  law 
cases,  and  also  as  a  court  of  equity.  Down  to  1868,  when 
the  distinction  between  law  and  equity  was  abolished,  the 
same  judges  held  the  courts  of  law  and  the  courts  of  equity, 
tho  the  distinction  between  the  two  as  separate  jurisdictions 
was  kept  up. 

By  the  Court  Bill  of  1746  the  seat  of  government  was  fixed 
at  ISTew  Bern.  Following  the  English  system,  all  writs  and 
processes  were  issued  from  that  court,  but  they  were  return- 


80  THE    NORTH    CAEOLINA    BOOKLET 

able  and  triable  before  nisi  prius  ternls  to  be  beld  by  tbe 
Chief  Justice  twice  a  year  at  tbree  points — at  Edenton,  in 
the  ISTorthern  Circuit;  at  Wilmington,  in  the  Southern  Cir- 
cuit; and  at  the  courthouse  in  Edgecombe  in  the  Western 
Circuit.  The  supreme  and  principal  court  continued  to  be 
held  twice  a  year  at  'New  Bern,  and  was  styled  the  General 
Court.  This  latter  consisted  of  the  Chief  Justice  and  three 
Associates  appointed  by  the  Governor.  In  1Y13  Christopher 
Gale  was  Chief  Justice.  He  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land, and  was  the  son  of  the  rector  of  a  church.  The  late 
Colonel  George  Little  of  Raleigh  was  his  lineal  descendant. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Tobias  Ejiight,  who  was  accused  (but 
acquitted)  of  complicity  with  the  pirate  "Blackbeard,"  and 
he  by  Frederick  Jones,  of  indifferent  fame.  Gale  on  his 
return  from  England  was  again  appointed.  In  1724  Gov- 
ernor Burrington  removed  him  aad  appointed  Thomas  Pol- 
lock, but  the  Lords  Proprietors  reinstated  Gale.  In  1729 
the  Lords  Proprietors  ceded  their  rights  to  the  crown,  and 
in  1731  Gale  was  superseded  by  William  Smith,  who  had 
been  educated  at  an  English  University,  and  had  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  England. 

Governor  Burrington  appointed  John  Palin  to  succeed 
Smith,  and  then  William  Little,  who  was  the  son-in-law  of 
Gale.  On  his  death  Daniel  Hamner  became  Chief  Justice, 
who  in  turn  was  replaced  by  William  Smith,  who  had  come 
back  from  England.  In  1740  John  Montgomery  became 
Chief  Justice,  and  was  succeeded  in  1744  by  Edward  Mose- 
ley,  a  man  of  real  ability.  He  died  in  1749,  and  his  suc- 
cessors were  in  turn  Enoch  Hall,  Eleazer  Allen,  James  Hazel, 
and  Peter  Henly. 

In  1746  an  important  change  was  made  by  the  court  law  of 
that  year.  Up  to  that  time  the  Chief  Justice  had  sat  with 
from  two  to  ten  assistants  who  were  simply  justices  of  the 
peace,  and  it  is  not  certain  even  that  all  the  Chief  Justices 
were  lav^yers.  Even  down  to  the  present  time,  tho  in  fact 
since  1771,  all  of  the  judges  of  the  Superior  and  Supreme 


HISTORY  OF  SUPEEIOR  AISTD  SUPREME  COURTS  81 

Court  have  been  lawyers^  there  has  never  been^  at  any  time, 
any  provision  of  the  Constitution  requiring  this.  Under 
the  Act  of  1746,  however,  three  associates  were  appointed  in 
lieu  of  the  former  lay  assistants,  and  they  were  required  to 
be  ^'learned  in  the  law." 

Charles  Berry  became  Chief  Justice  in  1760,  and  com- 
mitted suicide  in  1766.  In  1767  the  province  was  divided 
into  five  judicial  districts — Edenton,  IS^ew  Bern,  Wilmington, 
Halifax,  and  Hillsboro — in  each  of  which  towns  a  court  was 
held  twice  each  year  by  the  Chief  Justice  and  his  Associates. 
The  Chief  Justice  was  Martin  Howard^  and  the  Associates 
were  Richard  Henderson  and  Maurice  Moore.  Judge  Hen- 
derson was  the  father  of  Chief  Justice  Leonard  Henderson, 
and  Judge  Moore  was  the  father  of  Justice  Alfred  Moore  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Chief  Justice  Martin 
Howard,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  sided  with  the 
Tories  and  returned  to  Rhode  Island,  whence  he  had  come. 
The  Court  Act  of  1767  expired  at  the  end  of  five  years,  and 
by  reason  of  disagreement  between  the  Governor  and  the 
Legislature  there  were  no  courts  in  the  province  between  1773 
and  1777.  After  August,  1775,  till  the  Judiciary  Act, 
adopted  15  JSTovember,  1777,  by  the  new  State  Government, 
the  judicial  functions  were  discharged  by  the  committees  of 
public  safety. 

Under  the  Provincial  Government  the  Chief  Justice  was 
a  member  of  the  Upper  House  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
also  aided  largely  in  the  executive  functions.  On  the  other 
hand  the  Governor  granted  letters  of  administration,  probate 
of  wills,  and  had  other  judicial  jurisdiction.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  1776,  on  the  contrary,  made  both  the  executive  and 
judiciary  elective  by  the  General  Assembly,  which  was  chosen 
annually.  The  Constitution  of  1868  made  the  Supreme  and 
Superior  Courts  constitutional  offices  and  beyond  repeal  by 
legislative  action.  It  also  made  the  judges  elective  by  the 
people  for  the  term  of  eight  years. 


82  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

By  the  Judiciary  Act  of  1777  the  State  was  divided  into 
six  districts — ^Wilmington,  JSTew  Bern,  Edenton,  Halifax, 
Hillsboro,  and  Salisbury.  In  1782  Morganton  was  added, 
and  in  1787  Fayetteville,  making  eight  in  all.  In  each  of 
these  a  court  was  held  twice  each  year  by  the  three  judges 
jointly.  The  first  judges  selected  were  Samuel  Spencer  of 
Anson,  Samuel  Ashe  of  JSTew  Hanover,  and  James  Iredell 
of  Chowan.  Iredell,  who  was  later  a  Justice  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  soon  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by 
John  Williams  of  GranviUe.  Judge  Ashe  was  elected  Gov- 
ernor in  1795,  but  Spencer  served  till  his  death  in  1794,  and 
Williams  died  in  1799.  Judge  Spencer's  death  was  singiilar. 
In  old  age  he  was  asleep  on  a  warm  day  in  a  chair  under  the 
shade  of  a  tree.  A  turkey  gobbler  enraged  by  the  red  hand- 
kerchief which  the  judge  had  placed  over  his  face  to  keep  off 
the  flies,  assaulted  him,  causing  his  death. 

In  1790  Halifax,  Edenton,  ^ew  Bern,  and  Wilmington 
districts  were  constituted  the  Eastern  Biding,  and  Morgan- 
ton,  Salisbury,  Fayetteville,  and  Hillsboro  the  Western.  The 
number  of  judges  was  increased  to  four,  by  the  election  of 
Judge  Spruce  McKay,  and  two  judges  were  assigned  to  hold 
the  courts,  jointly,  in  each  riding. 

The  Constitution  of  1776  provided  that  the  General  Assem- 
bly should  by  joint  ballot  appoint  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  who  should  hold  during  good  behavior.  The  General 
Assembly  seemed  to  consider  that,  there  being  no  appellate 
court,  the  Superior  Court  filled  this  requirement,  for  there 
was  no  appellate  court  until  one  was  created  in  1799,  consist- 
ing of  all  the  Superior  Court  Judges,  to  continue  for  one 
year,  the  object  being  to  try  James  Glasgow,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  others  for  fraud  in  the  issuance  of  land  scrip  in 
Tennessee  issued  to  Revolutionary  soldiers.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  one  year  the  act  was  continued  in  force  by  chapter  12, 
Laws  1801,  which  provided,  among  other  things,  section  3 : 
"1^0  attorney  should  be  allowed  to  speak  or  admitted  as 
counsel  in  the  aforesaid  court."     This  was  a  repetition  of  a 


HISTORY  OF  SUPERIOR  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  »d 

similar  prejudice  against  lawyers  which  found  expression 
in  Locke's  "Fundainental  Constitutions  of  Carolina,"  March, 
1669,  which  provided,  section  70,  that  no  one  could  plead 
for  another  in  any  court  for  money  or  reward.  We  have 
outlived  those  days  tho  there  is  still  some  prejudice  naturally 
surviving  against  so  necessary  and  influential  a  profession 
as  ours. 

This  court  was  styled  the  "Court  of  Conference."     In 

1804  the  court  was  required  to  file  written  opinions,  and  in 

1805  the  title  was  changed  to  the  "Supreme  Court,"  a  tardy 
recognition  of  the  constitutional  provision  of  1776,  and  the 
sheriff  of  Wake  County  was  made  marshal  of  the  court. 

In  1806  the  ridings  were  increased  to  six  by  the  election 
of  two  additional  judges,  and  a  Superior  Court  for  the  first 
time  was  required  to  be  held  twice  a  year  in  the  courts  in 
each  county  by  a  single  judge.  TiU  1856  these  judges  met 
and  themselves  allotted  the  ridings,  the  only  restriction  being 
that  no  judge  should  hold  the  same  riding  twice  in  succession. 
In  1857  this  was  changed  to  require  the  judges  to  hold  every 
district  in  the  whole  State  in  regular  rotation.  By  the  Con- 
stitution of  1868  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  each  held  only 
his  own  district.  In  1878  this  was  changed  back  to  require 
the  Superior  Court  judges  to  ride  the  entire  State  in  rotation. 
In  1910  the  number  of  districts  having  been  increased  to  20, 
it  was  felt  to  be  a  hardship  that  a  judge  should  ride  his  own 
circuit  only  one  time  in  twenty,  and  that  it  was  an  anomaly 
that  a  judge  should  be  required  for  nineteen-twentieths  of 
his  time  to  preside  over  people  who  had  had  no  hand  in  his 
nomination,  and  the  State,  as  in  1790,  was  divided  into  two 
divisions,  the  judges  to  rotate  in  holding  only  the  districts  of 
their  respective  divisions.  Further  changes  in  that  direction 
are  desirable  and  will  doubtless  be  made. 

In  1910  the  judges  hearing  appeals  in  conference  were  au- 
thorized to  elect  a  Chief  Justice,  and  John  Louis  Taylor  was 
the  first  and  only  judge  to  fill  that  position.  A  seal  and 
motto  were  directed  to  be  established  by  the  court  and  the 


84  THE    NOKTH    CAEOLINA    BOOKIiET 

right  of  appeal  was  prescribed.  Any  two  judges  of  the  six, 
sitting  in  conference  at  Raleigh,  was  a  quorum. 

In  IsTovember,  1818,  the  Supreme  Court,  contemplated 
forty-two  years  before  by  the  Constitution  of  17Y6,  was  at 
last  created  by  legislative  enactment,  the  bill  being  introduced 
by  Hon.  William  Gaston,  afterwards  one  of  the  most  illus- 
trious members  of  the  court.  The  salary  of  the  judges  was 
fixed  at  $2,500  each,  the  salary  of  the  Governor  at  that  time 
being  $1,900,  and  the  salary  of  the  SiTperior  Court  judges, 
previously  $1,650,  was  raised  to  $1,800.  The  judges  of  the 
Superior  and  Supreme  Court  were  elected  by  the  Legislature 
and  held  for  life  till  1868,  when  these  courts  were  created  in 
the  Constitution,  without  liability  of  abolishment  by  the  Leg- 
islature as  formerly,  and  the  judges  were  made  elective  by 
the  people  for  the  term  of  eight  years. 

The  Supreme  Court,  created  in  1818,  began  its  existence 
1  January,  1819.  Its  first  session  was  held  5  January,  1819. 
John  Louis  Taylor,  Leonard  Henderson,  and  John  Hall  were 
elected,  who  chose  Taylor  for  Chief  Justice.  John  Louis 
Taylor  was  at  that  time  the  oldest  judge  in  commission  on  the 
Superior  Court  bench,  having  been  elected  in  1798.  He  was 
bom  in  London  of  Irish  parentage,  1  March,  1769.  At 
twelve  years  of  age  he  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his 
elder  brother,  and  received  his  education  in  part  at  William 
and  Mary  College  in  Virginia,  but  left  before  graduation. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1788,  located  in  FayetteviUe, 
and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  that  town, 
which  elected  a  borough  member,  for  four  terms.  He  re- 
moved to  'New  Bern  in  1796.  He  died  in  Ealeigh  in  Janu- 
ary, 1829. 

Leonard  Henderson  was  born  in  that  part  of  Granville 
County  which  is  now  Vance,  in  1772.  His  sister  married 
Spruce  McKay,  already  mentioned,  and  his  niece  became  the 
wife  of  Judge  Boyden  of  the  ISTorth  Carolina  Supreme  Court. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Superior  Court  in  1808  and  resigned 


HISTOKY  OF  SUPEEIOK  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  85 

in  1816.  Elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  as  above,  he  became 
Chief  Justice  in  1829  and  died  in  August,  1833. 

John  Hall,  the  third  member  of  the  court,  was  the  senior 
of  the  other  two,  having  been  born  in  Augusta  County, 
Virginia,  in  May,  1Y67.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  William  and  Mary  College.  He  re- 
mjoved  to  Warrenton,  1^.  C,  in  1792,  and  in  1800  was 
elected  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  of  the  Supreme 
Court  as  above  stated,  on  its  organization.  He  resigned  in 
December,  1832,  and  died  in  January,  1833. 

On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Taylor,  John  D.  Toomer 
was  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  the  bench,  and  Judge 
Henderson  was  elected  by  his  associates,  Chief  Justice. 

In  the  meantime  Archibald  D.  Murphey,  of  the  Superior 
Court,  under  a  provision  in  the  act  creating  the  court,  was 
detailed  by  the  Grovemor,  by  special  commission,  to  sit  in 
the  cases  where  any  one  of  the  three  incumbents  was  disquali- 
fied to  sit  because  of  having  been  counsel  in  any  cause. 
Judge  Murphey  was  thus  assigned  by  Governor  Branch  and 
sat  in  several  cases.  His  concurrence  with  Chief  Justice 
Taylor  against  Judge  Hall's  dissent  sustained  the  validity 
of  the  Moses  Grifiin  will,  under  which  ISTew  Bern  has  ever 
since  possessed  the  "Griffin  School."  Judge  Murphey  has 
always  been  vei*y  dear  to  the  people  of  this  State.  He  was 
the  son  of  Colonel  Archibald  Murphey,  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier of  Caswell  County.  He  was  born  in  1777  and  graduated 
at  the  University  of  I^orth  Carolina  with  the  highest  distinc- 
tion in  1799.  From  1812  to  1818  by  annual  election  he 
was  Senator  from  Orange.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements  and  common  schools  in  this 
State.  He  purposed  to  write  a  history  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 
In  1818  he  narrowly  missed  election  to  the  Supreme  Court 
and  was  chosen  to  fill  one  of  the  vacancies  on  the  Superior 
Court.  His  oration  before  the  two  literary  societies  of  the 
University  of  ISTorth  Carolina  in  1827  was  the  first  of  a  long 
series  of  these  and  has  never  been  sui'passed  by  any.     Under 


86  THE  WORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

the  conmion  law  barbarism  of  imprisonirient  for  debt,  this 
distinguished  man,  who  reflects  so  much  honor  on  his  State, 
was  for  some  months  in  Guilford  jail,  without  any  fault  on  his 
part.     He  died  in  1832. 

John  D.  Toomer  was  born  in  Wilmington,  March,  1834; 
was  educated  in  part  at  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  but 
did  not  graduate.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  Superior 
Coui't  in  1818,  but  soon  resigned.  On  the  death  of  Chief 
Justice  Taylor  in  1829  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Owen 
to  the  Supreme  Court  till  the  Legislature  met,  which  chose 
Thomas  Ruffin  to  succeed  him.  Judge  Toomer  was  after- 
wards in  the  State  Senate  and  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1835.  In  1836  he  was  again  elected  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court,  but  resigned  in  1840. 

Thomas  Ruffin  was  bom  in  Virginia  in  I>rovember,  1787. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  Methodist  minister.  He  was  educated 
at  Princeton  University.  He  studied  law  under  Judge  Mur^ 
phey  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1808,  locating  in  Hills- 
boro.  In  1813,  1815,  and  1816  he  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons  from  the  borough  of  Hillsboro  and  in  the 
last-named  year  was  Speaker,  and  was  chosen  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court,  but  resigned  after  two  years  service.  The 
first  seven  volumes  of  ISTorth  Carolina  Reports  down  to  the 
creation  of  the  separate  Supreme  Court,  1  January,  1819, 
were  by  volunteer  reporters.  The  act  creating  the  court 
authorized  the  court  to  appoint  the  reporter.  The  first  of 
these  was  Judge  Murphey.  Later  Judge  Ruffin  was  one  of 
the  reporters.  In  the  summer  of  1825  he  was  again  elected 
judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  but  resigned  after  three  years 
service,  when  in  1828  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  State 
Bank  at  Raleigh.  In  December,  1829,  he  was  chosen  by  the 
Legislature  to  the  Supreme  Court.  On  the  death  of  Chief 
Justice  Henderson  in  1833  and  the  appointment  of  Judge 
Gaston,  he  was  chosen  by  his  associates  Chief  Justice,  and 
served  for  nineteen  years,  resigning  from  the  court  in  1852. 
In  1858,  on  the  death  of  his  successor.  Chief  Justice  ISTash, 


HISTORY  OF  SUPERIOR  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  87 

he  was  called  by  the  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  General 
Assembly,  tho  then  in  his  7 2d  year,  again  to  the  Supreme 
bench,  and  took  his  place  as  Associate  Justice.  Eighteen 
months  later  he  again  resigned  and  died  in  1870  in  his  83d 
year.  He  raised  a  family  of  thirteen  children.  One  of  his 
sons,  Thomas  Euffin,  Jr.,  became  a  judge  of  the  Superior 
and  Supreme  Courts. 

Joseph  J.  Daniel,  bom  in  Halifax  County  in  1784,  was  at 
the  State  University,  but  did  not  graduate.  He  studied  law 
under  General  William  R.  Davie  at  Halifax.  He  repre- 
sented that  borough  and  the  county  in  the  General  Assembly. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Superior  Court  in  1816  and,  after  six- 
teen years  of  service,  on  the  death  of  Judge  Hall  was  elected 
to  the  Supreme  Court.  He  died  in  February,  1848.  His 
opinions  are  notable  for  brevity  and  point.     He  died  in  1848. 

For  eleven  years,  1833  to  1844,  Rufiin,  Daniel  and  Gaston 
sat  together  on  the  Supreme  Court  bench,  and  it  has  never 
been  surpassed  in  ability  and  reputation.  Yet  that  court 
rendered  an  erroneous  decision,  Hohe  v.  Henderson,  15  'E.  C, 
1  (in  1833),  which  gave  infinite  trouble  till,  after  seventy 
years,  it  was  overruled.  It  held  that  an  office  was  property. 
This  decision  was  not  followed  by  any  other  State  and  its 
doctrine  was  denied  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
Still  such  was  the  veneration  felt  for  the  court  that  it  was 
cited  with  approval  more  than  sixty  times;  but,  however, 
after  being  questioned  in  a  series  of  dissenting  opinions  which 
called  attention  to  its  being  opposed  to  our  entire  theory  of 
government,  it  was  finally  overruled  (in  1903)  in  Mial  v. 
Ellington,  134  I^.  C,  page  131.  During  its  existence  as 
authority  no  case  ever  caused  more  inconvenience  in  the 
administration  of  our  State  Government  than  this. 

William  Gaston  was  bom  in  ISTew  Bern  in  1778.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  the  N^orth  of  Ireland,  of  Huguenot  de- 
scent, and  graduated  at  the  Edinburgh  Medical  College. 
Chief  Justice  John  Louis  Taylor  married  Judge  Gaston's 
sister.     Gaston  served  in  the  State  Senate,  represented  the 


88  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

borough  town  of  'New  Bern  in  the  House  of  Coanmons,  and 
was  speaker  of  that  body.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  1812  to  1816.  His  address  before  the  literary  societies 
at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1832,  and  at  Prince- 
ton in  1834,  were  models  of  their  kind.  He  was  the  author 
of  our  State  hymn,  "The  Old  I^orth  State."  On  the  death 
of  Chief  Justice  Henderson  in  1833  Gaston  was  elected  to 
the  Supreme  Court.  He  died  suddenly  at  Raleigh  during 
the  session  of  the  court  in  January,  1844. 

On  the  death  of  Judge  Gaston,  Frederick  JsTash  of  Orange 
was  elected  to  succeed  him.  He  was  bom  in  New  Bern  in 
1781,  when  his  father,  Abner  IsTash,  was  Governor,  and  was 
a  nephew  of  General  Francis  ITash,  who  was  killed  at  Ger- 
mantown.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  College  with  distinc- 
tion in  1799.  In  1808  he  removed  to  Hillsboro  and  repre- 
sented that  borough  town  and  also  the  county  of  Orange  in 
the  General  Assembly.  In  1818  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court,  but  resigned  in  1826.  He  was  again 
elected  to  the  Superior  Court  in  1835,  and  upon  the  death  of 
Judge  Gaston  in  1844  he  was  elected  to  succeed  him,  being 
then  in  his  64th  year.  On  the  resignation  of  Chief  Justice 
Ruffiu  in  1852,  he  was  elected  by  his  associates,  Chief  Jus- 
tice, and  died  in  1858  in  the  78th  year  of  his  age. 

William  H.  Battle  was  bom  in  Edgecombe  in  October, 
1802,  the  grandson  of  Elisha  Battle,  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Baptist  church  in  this  State.  He  was  the  oldest  of  six 
brothers,  all  of  whom  were  educated  at  the  University.  He 
was  appointed  Reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1839.  In 
1833  and  1834  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons 
from  Franklin  and,  together  with  Governor  Iredell  and 
Judge  Nash,  was  a  member  of  the  commission  which  compiled 
the  Revised  Statutes.  He  was  promoted  to  the  Superior 
Court  in  1839.  In  1843  he  removed  to  Chapel  Hill,  and  in 
1845  he  was  elected  by  the  trustees  of  the  University  professor 
of  law  and  conducted  the  Law  School  till  1866.  Among  his 
students  were  three  of  his  successors  on  the  Supreme  Bench — 


HISTORY  OF  SUPERIOR  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  89 

Davis,  Shepherd,  and  Clark.  In  May,  1848,  on  the  death  of 
Judge  Daniel,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  William  A. 
Graham  to  fill  the  vacancy  till  the  Legislature  met,  which 
elected  Richmond  M.  Pearson  and  chose  Judge  Battle  to  the 
vacancy  created  on  the  Superior  Court  bench.  In  1852, 
upon  the  resigTiation  of  Chief  Justice  Ruffin,  Judge  IsTash 
became  Chief  Justice,  and  Judge  Battle  was  elected  to  the 
Supreme  Court  bench  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  irre- 
spective of  party.  He  filled  the  position  till  1865  when  all 
the  State  offices  were  declared  vacant.  He  was  then  again 
elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  filled  the  post  until  all  posi- 
tions were  vacated  by  the  new  Constitution  in  1868,  when 
he  returned  to  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  1876  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  Raleigh  ISTational  Bank.  In  1877 
his  son,  Kemp  P.  Battle,  having  been  elected  President  of  the 
University,  Judge  Battle  returned  to  Chapel  Hill  as  Dean  of 
the  Law  School.  He  published  a  Digest  of  the  l^orth  Caro- 
lina Reports  in  four  volumes,  and  edited  the  compilation  of 
laws  known  as  Battle's  Revisal.  He  died  in  March,  1879, 
in  the  77th  year  of  his  age. 

Richmond  M.  Pearson  was  born  in  June,  1805,  in  Rowan; 
graduated  at  the  University  in  1823.  He  studied  law  under 
Chief  Justice  Henderson,  and  was  licensed  in  1826.  For  four 
years  he  represented  Rowan  in  the  House  of  Comiaons,  and 
in  1835  was  defeated  for  Congress.  In  1836  he  was  elected 
to  the  Superior  Court,  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  December, 
1848,  and  became  Chief  Justice  in  1858,  and  was  reelected 
Chief  Justice  by  the  people  in  1868.  His  judicial  career 
covered  forty-one  years  of  unbroken  service — twelve  years 
on  the  Superior  Court  bench  and  twenty-nine  on  the  Supreme 
Court,  nineteen  of  them  as  Chief  Justice.  As  Chief  Justice 
he  presided  at  the  impeachment  of  Governor  Holden  in  1871. 
In  January,  1878,  on  his  way  to  Raleigh  to  open  the  spring 
term  of  court,  while  crossing  the  Yadkin  River  in  a  buggy, 
he  was  stricken  with  paralysis  and  died  at  Winston,  5  Janu- 
ary, 1878,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age. 


90  THE  NORTH  CAKOJ.INA  BOOKLET 

Matthias  E.  Manly  was  the  last  of  the  judges  who  ascended 
the  bench  in  antebellum  days.  He  was  born  in  Chatham, 
in  1800;  graduated  at  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina  in 
1824;  studied  law  under  his  brother,  Grovemor  Manly,  and 
located  in  I^ew  Bern.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  from  that  borough  in  1834-1835,  being  the  last 
borough  representative.  The  six  towns  which  enjoyed  that 
privilege  were  Halifax,  ISTew  Bern,  Wilmington,  Hillsboro, 
Fayetteville,  and  Salisbury.  It  was  abolished  by  the  Con- 
vention of  1835.  Judge  Manly  was  elected  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  in  1840,  and,  after  faithful  service  of  nine- 
teen years,  he  was  chosen  to  the  Supreme  Court,  in  December, 
1859,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  second  retirement  of 
Judge  Ruffin.  His  ofiice  was  declared  vacant  in  1865  and 
Judge  E.  G.  Eeade  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  He  was 
Speaker  of  the  State  Senate  in  1866,  and  was  elected  by  that 
Legislature  to  the  United  States  Senate,  jointly  with  Gov- 
ernor Graham,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to  take  their  seats. 
He  died  in  JSTew  Bern  in  1881  in  the  82d  year  of  his  age. 
His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Judge  Gaston. 

Edwin  G.  Reade  was  born  in  Person  County  in  N^ovember, 
1812.  His  father  died  while  he  was  very  young,  and  he 
aided  to  support  the  family  by  menial  work  on  the  farm  and 
in  the  carriage  and  blacksmith  shop  and  in  the  tanyard.  He 
read  law,  without  an  instructor,  in  books  kindly  loaned  to 
him,  and  received  license  to  practice  in  1835.  He  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1855,  but  declined  a  reelection.  In  1863  he 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Vance  to  the  Confederate  States 
Senate,  and  in  the  same  year  was  chosen  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court.  In  1865  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  the 
Supreme  Court  to  succeed  Judge  Manly,  being  the  last  judge 
chosen  by  the  General  Assembly.  In  1866  and  1867 
he  was  elected  Grand  Master  of  the  Masons.  In  1868  the 
Supreme  Court  having  been  enlarged  by  the  new  Constitution 
to  consist  of  five  members.  Chief  Justice  Pearson  and  Judge 
Reade  were  chosen  by  the  people  to  succeed  themselves,  with 


HISTORY  OF  SUPERIOR  A]!^D  SUPREME  COURTS  91 

W.  B.  Rodman,  R.  P.  Dick,  and  Thomas  Settle  as  their 
Associates.  Judge  Reade's  term  expired  1  January,  1879, 
when  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  Raleigh  !N^ational  Bank, 
then  somewhat  embarrassed.  Like  Chief  Justice  Ruffin,  un- 
der similar  circumstances,  he  restored  the  credit  of  the  bank. 
In  1865  he  was  elected  almiost  unanimously  to  the  State 
Convention  and  was  elected  its  president  by  acclamation.  It 
is  said  that  in  his  prime  he  had  no  superioT  as  an  advocate  in 
this  State  before  a  jury.  He  was  on  the  Supreme  Court 
thirteen  years.  He  died  in  Raleigh  18  October,  1894,  in  his 
82d  year. 

Judge  William  B.  Rodman  was  bom  in  Washingi;on,  ]^.  C, 
in  June,  181Y.  He  gTaduated  at  the  University  of  K'orth 
Carolina  at  the  head  of  his  class  in  1836 ;  read  law  with 
Judge  Gaston  and  was  licensed  to  practice  in  1838.  He  was 
captain  of  heavy  artillery  at  'New  Bern  in  March,  1862  ;  was 
quartermaster  in  Branch's  brigade,  but  was  soon  appointed 
on  a  military  court  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Convention  of  1868  and,  with  Tourgee  and  Victor 
Barringer,  was  on  the  commission  which  prepared  the  new 
Code  of  Civil  Procedure.  He  was  elected  by  the  people  in 
1868  to  the  new  Supreme  Court,  and  under  the  construction 
the  court  gave  to  the  terms  of  the  judges  first  elected  under 
the  Constitution,  he  served  for  ten  years,  and  retired  to 
practice  law  in  1879.     He  died  in  March,  1893. 

Judge  Robert  P.  Dick  was  bom  in  Creensboro  in  October, 
1823.  His  father,  Hon.  John  M.  Dick,  was  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  for  nearly  thirty  years  from  1832  till  his 
death  in  October,  1861.  Judge  Dick  graduated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  in  1843 ;  read  law  with  his  father 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845.  He  was  United  States 
District  Attorney  from  1852  till  1861.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Convention  of  1861,  and  signed  the  Ordinance 
of  Secession.  He  was  State  Senator  from  Guilford  in  1864, 
and  was  appointed  United  States  District  Judge  in  1865, 
but  resigned  because  unable  to  take  the  "iron  clad"  oath. 


92  THE    ISrOETH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

In  March,  1867,  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which 
organized  the  Republican  party  in  this  State,  and  in  April, 
1868,  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  June, 
1872,  he  was  appointed  United  States  District  Judge  for  the 
newly  created  Western  District  of  North  Carolina.  He  died 
in  September,  1898. 

Thomas  Settle  was  born  in  Rockingham  County  in  18 SI. 
His  father,  Thomas  Settle,  was  a  member  of  Congress  from 
1817  to  1821;  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  1827-8, 
and  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  from  1832  till  his  resigna- 
tion in  1854.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  graduated  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  in  1850;  read  law  with  Judge 
Pearson,  vvdth  whom  he  afterwards  sat  on  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  was  licensed  to  practice  in  1854.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Legislature  from  1854  to  1859.  He  was  Speaker  of  the 
House  in  1858;  and  an  elector  on  the  Buchanan  ticket  in 
1856.  He  entered  the  war  in  1861  as  captain  of  a  company 
in  the  Thirteenth  North  Carolina  Regiment.  At  the  end  of 
a  year's  service,  he  resigned  upon  his  election  as  solicitor  of 
his  district,  which  position  he  occupied  till  1868.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Convention  of  1865.  In  April,  1868,  he  was 
elected  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  resigned  in  February,  1871, 
on  his  appointment  as  Minister  to  Peru.  On  his  return  from 
Peru  in  1872  he  was  president  of  the  Republican  National 
Convention  which  nominated  Grant  for  a  second  term.  On 
the  resignation  of  Judge  Dick,  Judge  Settle,  in  December, 
1872,  was  reappointed  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  by  Gov- 
ernor Caldwell,  but  resigned  in  1876  upon  his  nomination 
as  candidate  for  Governor  against  Vance.  He  was  appointed 
United  States  District  Judge  for  Florida  in  January,  1877, 
and  died  in  that  offi,ce  1  December,  1888,  in  the  58th  year  of 
his  age.  One  of  his  sisters  married  David  S.  Reid,  Demo- 
cratic Governor  and  United  States  Senator,  and  another  was 
the  wife  of  O.  H.  Dockery,  Republican  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor in  1888. 


HISTORY  OF  SUPEKIOR  AND  STJPEEME  COUKTS  93 

ISTatliaiiiel  Boyden  was  bom  in  Conway,  Mass.,  16  August, 
1T96.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  entered 
Williams  College  in  181Y  and  graduated  in  Union  College, 
'New  York,  in  July,  1821.  His  father  was  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  who  died  in  1857,  being  94  years  of  age. 

Judge  Boy  den  came  to  Guilford  County  in  1822.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1823  and  represented  Surry  in  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1838  and  1840.  In  1844  he  repre- 
sented E-owan  in  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1847  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Thirtieth  Congress.  He  declined  reelec- 
tion and  continued  to  practice  law  till  raised  to  the  bench. 
He  attended  forty-eight  courts  each  year  and  practiced  regu- 
larly in  twelve  counties.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  of  1865  and  in  1868  was  elected  as  a  Republican 
to  the  Fortieth  Congress.  Upon  Judge  Settle's  first  resigna- 
tion he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Caldwell,  in  May,  1871, 
to  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  then  in  his  75th  year.  He 
died  in  1873  after  a  service  of  two  and  one-half  years. 

William  P.  Bynum  was  bom  in  June,  1820,  in  Stokes 
County.  He  graduated  at  Davidson  College  with  the  highest 
honors,  in  1843  ;  he  read  law  with  Judge  Pearson,  with  whom 
he  afterwards  sat  on  the  Supreme  Court,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1844.  His  license  was  the  last  signed  by  the 
lamented  Gaston,  who  died  so  suddenly.  In  1861  he  was 
appointed  by  Governor  Ellis  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Sec- 
ond ISTorth  Carolina  Regiment.  His  future  associate  on  the 
Supreme  Court,  Judge  Faircloth,  was  quartermaster  of  this 
regiment.  Judge  Bynum  was  in  the  battles  around  Rich- 
mond and  at  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  After  the 
death  of  Colonel  Tew  he  became  Colonel.  Early  in  1863  he 
was  elected  Solicitor  and  returned  home.  He  filled  that 
position  for  eleven  years,  till  he  was  appointed  to  the  Supreme 
bench  on  the  death  of  Judge  Boyden,  and  served  till  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term,  1  January,  1879,  when  he  returned  to 
practice  in  Charlotte,  where  he  died  30  December,  1909,  in 
his  90th  year. 


94  THE  NOETH  CAEOLIKA  BOOKLET 

William  T.  Faircloth  was  bom  in  Edgecombe  in  January, 
1829,  and  graduated  at  Wake  Forest  College  in  1854.  His 
means  were  limited  and  be  taught  school  in  vacation  to  paj 
his  expenses  in  college.  He  studied  law  with  Judge  Pearson 
and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  in  1856  and  located  in  Grolds- 
boro.  He  served  during  the  war  as  quartermaster,  and  sur- 
rendered at  Appomattox.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Conven- 
tion of  1865,  and  of  the  succeeding  Legislature,  by  which 
he  was  elected  solicitor.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Con- 
vention of  1875,  as  were  Judges  Avery  and  Shepherd.  In 
l^ovember,  1876,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Brogden  to 
the  Supreme  Court  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  second 
resignation  of  Judge  Settle.  His  term  expired  1  January, 
1879,  and  he  returned  to  practice  in  Goldsboro.  He  was 
defeated  in  1884  for  Lieutenant  Governor  on  the  Republican 
ticket,  and  in  1890  he  was  the  candidate  of  the  same  party 
for  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  against  Justice  Clark,  and 
was  again  defeated.  In  1894  he  was  nominated  by  the  Re- 
publicans and  Populists  and  elected  Chief  Justice.  He  died 
suddenly  at  his  home  in  Goldsboro  30. December,  1900. 

William  ISTathan  Harrell  Smith,  sixth  Chief  Justice,  was 
bom  in  Murfreesboro  in  September,  1812.  His  father  was 
a  native  of  Connecticut,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  a  physician, 
who  removed  to  this  State  in  1802  and  died  in  1813.  Judge 
Smith  graduated  at  Yale  in  1834  and  studied  law  in  its  law 
school.  Among  his  college  mates  were  Morrison  R.  Waite, 
later  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
W.  M.  Evarts,  since  Secretary  of  State;  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
and  Edwards  Pierrepont,  Minister  to  England.  He  obtained 
license  to  practice  law  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  but  soon  removed 
to  Texas.  After  a  stay  of  six  months  he  returned  to  this 
State  and  served  in  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  by 
which,  in  1848,  he  was  elected  solicitor  and  served  eight  years. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1858  and,  tho  it  was  his  first 
term,  came  within  one  vote  of  being  elected  speaker.  He 
served  in  the  Confederate  Congi*ess  the  four  years  of  the  war. 


HISTOEY  OF  SUPEKIOK  AND  SUPKEME  COUETS  95 

In  1870  he  removed  to  ISForfolk  to  practice  law,  but  in  1872 
he  removed  to  Raleigh.  Upon  the  death  of  Chief  Justice 
Pearson  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  in  January,  1878, 
by  Governor  Vance,  and  in  June  he  was  nominated  for 
Chief  Justice  and  elected  for  a  term  of  eight  yeai's,  and 
eight  years  later  the  bench,  then  consisting  of  Smith,  Ashe, 
and  Merrimon,  were  reelected,  the  first  two  being  then  in 
their  75th  year.     He  died  in  November,  1889. 

The  court,  from  1868  to  1  January,  1879,  consisted  of 
five  judges,  all  of  whom  were  Republicans,  except  Judge 
Smith,  who  was  appointed  in  January,  1878,  to  fill  out  the 
unexpired  teim  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson.  The  court  was 
reduced  1  January,  1879,  to  three  in  number,  all  Democrats, 
Judge  Smith  being  reelected,  with  Judge  Thomas  S.  Ashe 
and  John  H.  Dillard  as  Associates. 

Thomas  S.  Ashe  was  born  in  July,  1812,  in  Alamance  and 
was  a  great  gTandson  of  Judge  Samuel  Ashe,  already  men- 
tioned as  one  of  the  three  judges  who  constituted  the  entire 
judiciary  of  North  Carolina  from  1777  to  1795,  when  he 
became  Governor.  Judge  Thos.  S.  Ashe  graduated  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina  in  1832  in  the  same  class  with 
James  C.  Dobbin,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  President 
Pierce,  and  United  States  Senator  Thomas  L.  Clingman.  He 
studied  law  under  Chief  Justice  Kuffin  and  located  at  Wades- 
boro  in  1836.  He  represented  his  county  in  both  branches 
of  the  General  Assembly  and  was  solicitor  from  1848  to 
1852.  He  declined  the  nomination  for  Congress  in  1858. 
During  the  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress, both  in  the  House  and  Senate.  He  was  a  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor  in  1868,  but  was  defeated  by  Governor 
Holden.  In  1872,  and  in  1874,  he  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Congress.  In  1878  he  was  elected  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  North  Carolina  to  succeed  Judge  Reade,  and  in 
1886,  was  renominated  by  acclamation  and  reelected,  being 
then  in  his  75th  year.     He  died  in  Wadesboro  in  1887. 


96  THE    NOKTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

John  H.  Dillard  was  bom  in  Rockingham.  County  in  ISTo- 
vemher,  1819.  For  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  ISTorth  Carolina,  but  left  on  account  of  ill  health  and 
graduated  at  the  Law  School  of  William  and  Mary  in  1840 ; 
he  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Virginia,  but  returned  to  this 
State  in  1846.  In  1862  he  entered  the  army  as  captain  in 
the  Forty-fifth  JSTorth  Carolina  Regiment  and  served  one 
year.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Greensboro;  in  1878  he  was 
elected  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  resigned  in  February, 
1881,  after  a  service  of  a  little  more  than  two  years.  He 
died  in  Greensboro  6  May,  1896. 

Thomas  Ruifin,  the  fourth  son  of  Chief  Justice  Thomas 
Ruiiin,  was  born  at  Hillsboro  in  September,  1824.  He  gi'ad- 
uated  at  the  University  of  I^orth  Carolina  in  1844.  He  read 
law  under  his  father  and  began  practice  in  Caswell  County. 
He  represented  Rockingham  in  the  Legislature,  and  in  1856 
he  was  elected  Solicitor,  serving  four  years.  In  1861  he 
entered  the  army  as  a  captain  in  the  Thirteenth  North  Caro- 
lina Regiment,  but  in  October,  1861,  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Clark  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  John  M.  Dick.  He 
rode  the  fall  circuit,  but  resigned  in  March,  1862,  being 
appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  his  regiment.  He  was 
wounded  at  South  Mountain,  September,  1862,  and  resigned 
the  following  March.  Later  he  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  army  court  in  the  Army  of  the  West.  After  the  war  he 
was  a  partner  with  Judge  Dillard  and  John  A.  Gilmer  at 
Greensboro,  but  his  health  becoming  impaired,  he  abandoned 
the  practice  and  removed  to  Hillsboro  where  he  became  an  in- 
surance agent.  In  1875  he  returned  to  the  bar  and  formed  a 
partnership  with  John  W.  Graham.  Upon  the  resignation 
of  Judge  Dillard  in  February,  1881,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  the  next  year  was  nominated  and  elected. 
He  resigned  in  September,  1883,  to  resume  the  practice  of 
law.     He  died  at  Hillsboro  in  1889. 


HISTOKY  OF  SUPEKIOE.  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  97 

Augustus  S.  Merrimon  was  bom  in  Transylvania  County 
in  September,  1830.  In  1860  he  was  elected  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  in  1861  he  entered  the  army  as  quarter- 
master with  the  rank  of  captain,  but  was  soon  elected  solicitor 
and  served  till  the  end  of  the  war.  He  was  elected  a  judge 
of  the  Superior  Court  in  1866,  but  resigned  in  August,  1867, 
rather  than  obey  orders  issued  by  military  authority.  He 
was  a  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the  Supreme 
Court  in  1868,  but  was  defeated  with  his  ticket.  He  was 
candidate  for  Governor  in  1872  and  was  again  defeated,  but 
in  1873  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator  and  served  till 
1879.  On  the  resignation  of  Judge  Ruffin  in  1883  he  was 
appointed  to  the  Supreme  bench  and  was  reelected  at  the 
next  election.  On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Smith,  l^ovem- 
ber,  1889,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Fowle  Chief  Justice 
and  served  three  years  till  his  death  in  ISTovember,  1892. 

Joseph  J.  Davis  was  bom  in  April,  1828,  in  what  is  now 
Vance  County.  His  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  attended  Wake  Forest  College  one  year  and  then 
went  to  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  but  did  not  gradu- 
ate. He  read  law  under  Judge  Battle  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1850.  In  1862  he  entered  the  army  as  captain  in 
the  Forty-seventh  ISTorth  Carolina  Regiment  and  was  taken 
prisoner  in  PettigTew's  charge  at  Gettysburg,  3  July,  1863, 
and  was  a  prisoner  till  near  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1866 
he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  from  Franklin,  and  in  1874 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  Raleigh  dis- 
trict and  served  six  years.  In  1887,  upon  the  death  of  Judge 
Ashe,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  was  nomi- 
nated and  elected  to  the  same  position  the  following  year. 
He  died  in  August,  1892. 

Alphonso  C.  Avery  was  bom  in  1835  in  Burke;  graduated 
at  the  University  of  !North  Carolina  in  1857 ;  studied  law 
under  Chief  Justice  Pearson;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1860;  served  in  the  Confederate  Army,  rising  to  the  rank  of 


98  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

major;  was  State  Senator  in  1866  and  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  in  1875 ;  was  elected  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  in  18Y8  and  was  reelected  in  1886 ;  upon  the 
increase  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  five  in  number  he  and 
Judge  Shepherd  were  elected  the  two  additional  judges  and 
took  his  seat  in  January,  1889.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term,  1  January,  1897,  he  returned  to  the  practice  and  died 
in  Morganton  in  June,  1913. 

James  E.  Shepherd  was  bom  in  I^ansemond  County,  Vir- 
ginia, 26  July,  1845.  During  the  war  he  was  a  telegraph 
operator  in  Virginia.  He  studied  law  under  Judge  Battle; 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1875.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  Superior  Court  by  Governor  Jarvis  in  AugTist,  1882,  and, 
by  subsequent  election,  he  continued  until  promoted  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  where  he  took  his  seat  1  January,  1889. 
On  the  death  of  Judge  Merrimon  he  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Holt,  in  ISTovember,  1892,  Chief  Justice,  but  was  de- 
feated at  the  election  in  1894,  and  returned  to  the  practice  in 
January,  1895.  He  died  at  a  hospital  in  Baltimore,  where 
he  had  gone  for  treatment,  in  February,  1910. 

Walter  Clark  was  bom  in  Halifax  County,  19  August, 
1846 ;  graduated  at  the  University  of  l^orth  Carolina  in 
1864;  saw  service  in  the  war  1861-5  (except  one  year  while 
at  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina),  attaining  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel.  When  the  number  of  the  Superior  Court 
judges  was  increased  from  9  to  12  in  1885  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Scales,  15  April,  1885,  one  of  the  additional 
Superior  Court  judges  and  was  elected  in  1886  by  the  people. 
Upon  the  appointment  of  Judge  Merrimon  as  Chief  Justice 
he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Fowle  to  succeed  him  as 
Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  16  November,  1889, 
and  was  elected  by  the  people  for  the  unexpired  term  in 
1890.  In  1894  he  was  elected  for  the  full  term  of  eight 
years,  being  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  and  endorsed 
by  the  Republican  and  Populist  parties.     In  1902  he  was 


HISTOKY  OF  SUPEEIOK  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  99 

nominated  and  elected  Chief  Justice  and  was  renominated 
and  reelected  in  1910  and  in  1918. 

James  C.  McKae  was  bom  in  Fayetteville,  October,  1838, 
and  was  licensed  to  practice  law  in  1859.  He  saw  service  in 
the  Confederate  Army,  1861-65,  reaching  the  rank  of  major. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  18Y4.  He  became  judge 
of  the  Superior  Court  in  July,  1882,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term  in  1890  he  returned  to  the  bar.  Upon  the  death 
of  Judge  Davis  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Holt,  in 
August,  1892,  to  succeed  him,  and  was  elected  for  the  unex- 
pired term.  He  was  defeated  for  reelection  by  the  Republi- 
can nominee  in  1894,  and  returned  to  the  practice  of  law. 
In  1900  he  accepted  the  position  of  professor  of  law  at  the 
University  of  JSTorth  Carolina,  where  he  died  in  October, 
1909. 

Armistead  Burwell  was  born  in  Hillsboro  in  October, 
1839,  the  son  of  Rev.  Robert  Burwell,  the  Presbyterian  pastor 
at  that  place.  He  gTaduated  at  Davidson  College  in  1859, 
with  first  honors,  and  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  Arkansas 
when  the  war  broke  out.  He  served  thruout  the  war  with 
troops  from  that  State,  reaching  the  rank  of  captain,  and  was 
severely  wounded  in  1864  before  Atlanta.  He  resumed 
teaching  in  Charlotte  after  the  war,  studied  law  and  was 
licensed  to  practice  in  1869 ;  he  was  State  Senator  in  1880. 
He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Holt  to  the  Supreme  Court 
in  ISTovember,  1892,  but  was  defeated  in  the  election  by  the 
Republican  candidate  in  1894,  and  resumed  practice  at 
Charlotte,  where  he  died  in  May,  1913. 

David  M.  Furches  was  born  in  Davie  County  in  April, 
1832.  His  grandfather,  Tobias  Furches,  was  a  prominent 
Baptist  preacher.  Judge  Furches  was  educated  at  Union 
Academy  in  Davie  and  studied  law  under  Chief  Justice 
Pearson,  obtaining  license  to  practice  in  the  Superior  Court 
in  1857.  He  located  in  Mocksville,  where  he  was  county 
attorney,  removing  to  Statesville  in  1866.     He  was  a  member 


100  THE    NORTH    CAEOI.IiSrA    BOOKLET 

of  the  State  Convention  in  1865 ;  was  defeated  for  Congress 
in  18Y2;  for  the  Supreme  Court  in  1888;  and  for  Governor 
in  1892.  He  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  in 
1875  to  succeed  Anderson  Mitchell,  and  served  till  January, 
1879.  He  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  as  a  Republican 
and  took  his  seat  1  January,  1894.  Jointly  with  Judg-e 
Douglas,  he  was  impeached  by  the  Legislature  of  1901  for 
issuing  an  order  to  the  State  Treasurer  to  pay  out  money 
which  had  been  forbidden  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  White 
iJ.  Auditor,  126  ~N.  C,  570.  The  charge  was  sustained  by 
a  majority  of  the  Senate,  but  did  not  receive  the  necessary 
two-thirds  vote  to  convict  and  remove  from  office.  He  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  law  at  the  end  of  his  term  in  1903  and 
died  in  1908. 

Judge  Walter  A.  Montgomery  was  bom  in  Warrenton  in 
February,  1845.  He  served  in  the  Twelfth  North  Carolina 
Regiment,  1861  to  1865,  being  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
in  1864,  and  was  paroled  at  Appomattox.  He  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  1867.  In  1873  he  removed  to  Memphis,  Tenn., 
but  returned  to  this  State  in  1876.  In  1894  he  was  elected 
to  the  Supreme  Court  to  fill  an  unexpired  term  for  two  years, 
and  in  1896  he  was  elected  for  the  full  term  of  eight  years. 
On  its  expiration  he  returned  to  the  practice  1  January,  1905. 

Robert  M.  Douglas  was  born  in  January,  1849.  He  was 
the  son  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  was  United  States  Sena- 
tor from  Illinois  and  candidate  for  President  in  1860.  He 
was  Private  Secretary  to  the  Governor  of  ISTorth  Carolina  in 
1868  and  Private  Secretary  to  President  Grant,  1869  to  1873, 
and  United  States  Marshal  of  N'orth  Carolina,  1873  to  1883. 
In  1886,  then  37  years  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar; 
in  1896  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  term  of 
eight  years,  and  at  the  end  of  his  tenn  returned  to  practice 
at  Greensboro.     He  died  in  February,  1917. 

Charles  Alston  Cook  was  born  in  Warrenton  in  October, 
1848.  He  was  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  but 
graduated  at  Princeton  in  1870 ;  represented  his  county  in 


HISTOET  OF  SUPEEIOE  AND  SUPEBME  COTJETS  101 

both  Houses  of  tlie  General  Assembly;  was  United  States 
District  Attorney  in  1889  to  1893.  In  January,  1901,  be 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Eussell  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  Furcbes,  appointed  Cbief 
Justice.  His  term  expired  1  January,  1903.  He  removed 
to  Muskogee,  Oklaboma,  wbere  be  became  a  member  of  tbe 
House  of  Representatives,  and  died  in  1917. 

Piatt  D.  Walker  was  bom  in  Wilmington  in  October, 
1849;  was  a  student  at  tbe  University  of  IsTortb  Carolina; 
studied  law  at  tbe  University  of  Virginia  and  was  admitted 
to  tbe  bar  in  1870 ;  be  practiced  law  in  Ricbmond  County  and 
moved  to  Charlotte  in  1876.  He  was  elected  associate  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court;,  taking  bis  seat  1  January,  1903 ;  was 
reelected  in  1910  and  in  1918. 

Henry  G.  Connor  was  born  at  Wilmington,  July,  1852; 
was  admitted  to  tbe  bar  in  1873 ;  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Senate  and  House,  being  speaker  of  tbe  latter  in  1899.  He 
was  judge  of  tbe  Superior  Court  eight  years,  1885  to  1893. 
He  was  elected  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  and 
took  his  seat  1  January,  1903.  Was  appointed  United  States 
District  Judge  for  the  Eastern  District  of  ^N^orth  Carolina, 
1  June,  1909,  which  position  he  still  fills. 

George  H.  Brovtra  was  bom  in  Washington,  IST.  C,  May, 
1850.  He  was  educated  at  Horner's  School  at  Oxford  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1873.  He  was  judge  of  tbe  Supe- 
rior Court,  1889  to  1904,  and  was  elected  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  taking  his  seat  1  January,  1905,  and  was  reelected 
in  1912. 

William  A.  Hoke  was  bom  at  Lincolnton,  25  October, 
1851;  educated  at  private  schools;  studied  law  under  Chief 
Justice  Pearson  and  was  admitted  to  tbe  bar  in  1872.  He 
was  State  Senator  in  1889,  and  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court,  1891  to  1904;  elected  to  the  Supreme  Court,  taking 
his  seat  1  January,  1905,  and  was  reelected  in  1912. 

James  S.  Manning  was  born  in  Pittsboro  in  June,  1859 ; 
graduated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he 


102  THE    I^ORTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  in  1880,  locat- 
ing at  Durham.  Was  a  member  of  the  State  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  1907  and  State  Senate  in  1909.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Kitchin,  in  June;,  1909,  to  fill  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Judge  Connor,  returned  to  the  practice  of  law 
1  January,  1911,  and  was  elected  Attorney  General  for  teiin 
beginning  January,  1917. 

William  E.  Allen  was  bom  at  Kenansville  in  March, 
1860 ;  graduated  at  Trinity  College,  I^.  C. ;  studied  law  uiidei- 
his  father  and  was  licensed  to  practice  law  in  1881,  locating 
at  Goldsboro.  He  represented  Wayne  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly in  1893,  1899,  and  1901 ;  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  in  August,  1894,  but  was  defeated  by  his 
Republican  opponent  and  returned  to  the  practice  1  January, 
1895.  He  was  again  elected  to  the  Superior  Court  and 
served  eight  years,  from.  1  January,  1903,  when  having  been 
elected  to  the  Supreme  Court,  he  took  his  seat  there  1  Janu- 
ary, 1911,  and  was  reelected  in  1918. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  JSTorth  Carolina,  as  a  separate  or- 
ganization and  not  merely  as  a  court  of  conference  of  Supe^ 
rior  Court  judges,  began  1  Janua.ry,  1819.  It  therefore 
rounded  out  a  century  1  January,  1919.  It  has  had,  includ- 
ing the  present  incumbents,  forty  judges.  The  court  con- 
sisted of  three  members  from  1  January,  1818,  to  1868.  It 
was  composed  of  five  judges  from  1868  to  1  January,  1879 ; 
it  then  consisted  of  three  judges  to  1  January,  1889,  and 
since  that  date  of  five  judges.  Of  the  forty  judges  Chief 
Justice  Taylor  was  born  in  England ;  Chief  Justice  Ruffin, 
Shepherd  and  Judge  Hall  in  Virginia;  Judge  Boyden  in 
Massachusetts ;  the  other  thirty-five  were  natives  of  this  State. 

Chief  Justice  Rufiin  was  in  his  83d  year  when  he  died,  and 
Judge  Manly  in  his  82d — both  after  their  retirement;  but 
Chief  Justice  Taney  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
died  in  office  in  his  88th  year,  soon  after  delivering  the 
opinion  in  the  Merrynian  case,  and  Lord  Halsbury  is  still 


HISTORY  OF  SUPERIOR  AND  SUPREME  COURTS  103 

the  highest  judicial  officer  in  England,  chairman  of  the  Law 
Committee  in  the  House  of  Lords,  in  his  95th  year. 

Judge  Settle  was  the  youngest  judge,  ascending  the  bench 
at  37.  ^NText  came  the  elder  Ruffin,  Pearson,  Murphey, 
Shepherd,  and  Clark,  who  all  went  on  at  43.  Judge  Furches 
went  on  at  62,  becoming  Chief  Justice  at  68 ;  Judge  E^ash.  at 
63,  and  was  in  bis  72  d  year  when  made  Chief  Justice. 

Judge  Smith  went  on  the  bench  at  65,  and  Judge  Ashe  at 
66,  as  was  Faircloth  when  taking  his  seat  a  second  time,  after 
an  interval  of  sixteen  years.  Judge  Boyden  was  74  when 
appointed,  and  yet  served  two  and  a  half  years.  Smith  and 
Ashe  were  in  their  75th  year  when  elected  a  second  time. 
There  is  probably  no  other  case  of  two  out  of  three  judges  of 
the  highest  court  of  a  State  being  reelected  at  such  age.  The 
longest  service  (except  the  writer's)  has  been  Pearson's, 
twenty-nine  years  and  three  weeks,  and  the  elder  Puffin, 
neai'ly  twenty-five  years  (counting  both  times  he  was  on  the 
bench),  and  each  of  these  was  nineteen  years  Chief  Justice. 
The  writer  has  been  on  the  Supreme  Court  since  16  ISJovem- 
ber,  1889. 

As  to  religious  persuasion,  three  have  been  Roman  Catho- 
lics, Gaston,  Manly  and  Douglas;  two  Baptists,  Faircloth 
and  Montgomery;  four  Methodists,  Merrimon,  Clark,  Cook, 
and  Allen;  seven  Presbyterians,  ISTash,  Reade,  Dick,  Smith, 
Dillard,  Avery,  and  Burwell;  one  Freethinker,  and  the  re- 
maining 23  Episcopalians. 

For  the  first  50  years — 1818  to  1868 — the  judges  were 
chosen  for  life  by  the  General  Assembly.  For  the  last  50 
years — 1868  to  1918 — they  have  been  elected  by  the  people 
and  for  terms  of  eight  years. 

The  Superior  Court  in  1777  consisted  of  three  members, 
and  notwithstanding  the  requirement  for  a  Supreme  Court  in 
the  Constitution  of  1776  remained  the  sole  court  of  higher 
jurisdiction  for  42  years.  It  was  gradually  increased  from 
three  judges  in  1777  to  eight  judges  in  1868,  when  the  Con- 
stitution increased  the  number  to  twelve.     On  1  January, 


104  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

1879,  this  number  was  reduced  to  nine,  which  was  again  in- 
creased to  twelve  in  1885.  In  1901  it  was  increased  to 
sixteen,  and  in  1913  to  20.  In  1915  the  State  was  divided 
into  two  divisions  and  the  Superior  Court  judges  were  re- 
quired to  rotate  by  holding  successively  only  the  districts  in 
their  own  division  instead  of  the  entire  State. 

The  Superior  and  Supreme  Courts  were  legislative  crea- 
tions till  1868,  the  judges  being  elected  by  the  Legislature 
for  life  terms.  The  Constitution  of  1868  made  them  consti- 
tutional officers,  elective  by  the  people  for  terms  of  eight 
years.  The  number  of  Supreme  Court  judges  is  fixed  by 
that  instrument,  but  the  Legislature  can  increase  or  diminish 
the  number  of  Superior  Court  judges.  In  the  event  of  a 
vacancy,  either  on  the  Superior  or  Supreme  Court  bench,  the 
Governor  appoints  until  the  vacancy  is  filled  at  the  next  gen- 
eral election. 


Raleigh,  "N.  C,  4  January,  1919. 


WILUAM  BKYAN  OF  CEAVEN  COUNTY         105 

William  Bryan  of  Graven  County,  Brigadier 
General  in  the  American  Revolution 

By  William  Hollisteb 

During  the  time  that  Ireland  was  divided  into  small  mon- 
archies or  baronies,  O'Brien  was  head  of  the  government  of 
Munster,  The  celebrated  "Hall  of  Tara"  (poem  by  Thomas 
Moore)  is  referred  to  as  having  been  visited  by  him  in  "The 
Story  of  Ireland,"  by  Lawless,  ch.  8,  p.  61.  In  after  years, 
from  various  causes,  the  name  gradually  changed  its  orthog- 
raphy to  O'Brian,  then  to  O' Bryan,  and  the  competitor  for 
the  Irish  Crown  was  John  O'Bryan,  some  account  of  whom 
perhaps  we  find  in  Grenshaw's  History  of  England.  Some 
time  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  his  five 
sons,  who  were  under  political  proscription,  left  their  native 
land  for  America.  Their  names  were  Council,  Edward, 
John,  William,  and  Hardy.  They  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  widowed  mother  and  their  home  of  luxury  and  come  as 
mere  adventurers  to  the  new  world.  Council  having  died  at 
sea,  the  remaining  four  landed  at  ISFew  Bern,  IST.  C.  They 
were  bold,  energetic  men  and  went  at  once  to  work.  They 
began  with  many  others  to  make  what  has  since  become  one 
of  the  greatest  commercial  productions  of  the  State — tar. 
By  strict  economy  and  perseverance  they  soon  saved  enough 
money  to  purchase  a  negTO  named  "Tom,"  the  first  ever  owned 
by  the  Bryan  family.  They  had  dropped  the  "O"  from  their 
name  and  wrote  it  simply  Bryan.     (The  above  by  tradition.) 

Fortune  smiled  upon  their  labors  and  ere  many  years  they 
had  purchased  as  many  slaves  as  they  desired  and  invested 
their  funds  in  vessels  at  sea.  After  this  period  we  know 
nothing  of  the  original  four  except  Hardy.  It  is  said  that 
the  Bryans  are  descended  from  Brian  Boru,  who  was  for 
twelve  years  Monarch  of  Ireland  (about  1014).  For  refer- 
ence, see  "The  Story  of  Ireland,"  ch.  8,  pp.  60-70. 

William  Bryan,  son  of  Hardy  Bryan  (one  of  the  original 
four),  and  Sarah  Bonner,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Sheriff 


106  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

Thomas  Bonner,  was  bom  in  Craven  County,  the  date  un- 
known, near  Fort  Barnwell.  He  was  a  large  landowner  and 
a  very  prominent  man  in  the  political  and  military  life  of  his 
day.  His  remains  lie  buried  near  his  old  home,  and  a 
descendant,  Mr.  Albert  E.  Wadsworth,  now  owns  the  land. 
The  exact  time  of  his  death  is  also  unknown,  but  his  will, 
made  January  8,  1791,  and  probated  in  the  same  year  at  the 
March  term  of  court,  shows  that  his  death  occurred  some  time 
in  that  year,  and  very  early  in'  that  year.  See  Book  of 
Wills  A,  p.  24,  in  the  "Eecords  of  Wills"  at  the  Craven 
County  courthouse,  !N^ew  Bern,  I^T.  C. 

The  first  mention  we  can  find  of  William  Brj'^an  in  the 
political  life  of  the  province  is  at  a  council  meeting  of  the 
delegates  of  the  province  in  convention  at  'New  Bern,  April  3 
and  4,  1775.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Craven  County,  see 
Colonial  Records,  Vol.  10,  p.  110.  On  August  21,  1775, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  delegates  to  the  Assembly  at  Hillsboro, 
called  by  Samuel  Johnson,  to  which  Assembly  William  Bryan 
was  a  delegate,  he  was  made  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  New 
Bern  district  (see  Wheeler's  History  of  JSTorth  Carolina, 
Vol.  I,  p.  72).  Colonial  Records  gives  this  date  as  Saturday, 
September  9,  1775  (Vol.  10,  p.  563).  Jones's  Defense  of 
ITorth  Carolina  mentions  William  Bryan  as  lieutenant-colonel 
(ch.  8,  p.  220). 

The  New  Bern  Minute  Men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Bryan,  participated  in  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge, 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  Brier  Creek  Bridge,  February  27, 
1776,  which  was  the  first  victory  to  American  ai*ms  in  the 
Revolution.  (See  Jones's  Defense,  ch.  8,  p.  339.  State 
Records  of  ITorth  Carolina,  Vol.  14,  pp.  271,  276-278,  281, 
282,  283,  and  Vol.  13,  p.  13.)  At  Moore's  Creek  Bridge 
he  figured  gallantly.  This  battle  awakened  the  people  of 
ISTorth  Carolina  to  a  realization  of  their  true  situation.  They 
had  begun  to  see  the  absurdity  of  swearing  allegiance  to  a 
king  who  had  thrown  them  out  of  his  protection  and  with 
whom  they  were  at  open  war.     In  a  letter  written  from 


WILLIAM  BRYAN  OF  CKAVEN  COUNTY         107 

Halifax,  ]^.  C,  April  14:,  1776,  a  tourist  who  had  just  arrived 
from  Philadelphia  thus  described  the  state  of  affairs,  in  the 
News  and  Observer,  dated  March  6,  1910: 

As  I  came  through  A'^irginia  I  found  the  inhabitants  desirous  to  be 
independent  from  Great  Britain;  the  same  is  true  in  North  Carolina. 
However,  they  are  willing  to  submit  to  whatever  the  General  Con- 
gress shall  determine  (General  Bryan  was  a  member  of  this  General 
Congress).  Gentlemen  of  the  first  fortune  in  the  province  have 
marched  as  common  soldiers,  to  encourage  and  give  spirit  to  the  men 
that  have  footed  it  the  whole  time.  Lord  Cornwallis  with  seven  regi- 
ments is  expected  to  visit  us  every  day.  All  regard  and  fondness  for 
the  King  and  Nation  of  Great  Britain  is  gone.  A  total  separation  is 
what  they  want.  Independence  is  the  word  most  used.  For  many  weeks 
in  letters,  newspapers,  in  conversations,  at  the  firesides  and  cross- 
roads, and  in  public  assemblies  the  people  have  been  discussing  the 
great  question.  But  the  crowning  arguments  in  favor  of  a  declara- 
tion of  independence  were  the  guns  of  Caswell,  Lillington,  Ashe  and 
Bryan,  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  and  the  black  hulks  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  men-of-war  as  they  rode  at  anchor  in  the  Cape  Fear,  Febru- 
ary 27. 

Quoting  from  Vol.  14,  p.  278,  of  Colonial  Records : 

The  creek  was  fordable  both  above  and  below  the  camp ;  and  above 
so  narrow  that  in  some  places  a  tree  might  have  been  felled  over 
so  as  to  permit  men  to  pass.  The  camp  which,  in  the  absence  of 
General  Ashe,  had  been  put  in  order  by  General  Bryant  (as  his  name 
is  sometimes  spelled )  and  General  Elbert  faced  up  the  fork ;  the  left 
nearly  touched  the  creek  and  the  right  reached  within  about  half  a 
mile  of  the  swamp  that  borders  upon  the  Savannah  River.  In 
advance  about  a  mile  was  a  piquet  of  one  hundred  men  which  had 
been  divided  into  several  smaller  ones  with  a  chain  of  sentries 
between  each,  and  in  addition  an  advanced  sentry  for  the  whole ;  in 
the  rear  was  posted  the  light  infantry  with  one  brass  four-pounder 
near  where  the  bridge  had  stood.  They  might  have  plainly  perceived 
from  several  proofs  that  the  larger  part  of  the  enemy  had  moved,  but 
did  not  return  to  give  notice  of  it.  The  first  intelligence  received  of 
the  enemy's  movements  was  from  an  express  that  was  on  his  way  up 
to  General  Williamson's,  who  had  scarcely  communicated  it  when  a 
message  from  Colonel  Smith  confirmed  it.  They  came  down  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  three  columns  three  abreast :  the 
center  column  came  down  the  road  (at  least  the  general  could  not 
discern  the  other  two  so  plainly)  and  began  firing  at  thirty  yards 
distance. 


108  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

In  the  words  of  General  Bryan  himself,  taken  from  Colo- 
nial Eecords,  Vol.  14,  pp.  278-280,  he  says : 

I  pointed  out  that  my  opinion  was  that  the  camp  was  not  properly 
placed  in  being  so  near  the  bridge.  Nevertheless  a  detachment  of 
four  hundred  men  were  sent  out  that  evening  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Caswell  to  surprise  a  piquet  of  the  enemy.  They  passed  the 
creek  in  a  flat  near  where  the  bridge  had  been;  on  the  28th,  which 
was  Sunday,  General  Ashe  (who  was  chief  in  command)  left  camp 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  meet  General  Lincoln  at  William- 
son's, but  without  giving  me  any  commands  or  orders ;  the  duty  now 
falling  upon  me,  I  called  a  council  of  the  field  officers  and  determined 
for  several  reasons  to  move  the  camp  a  mile  higher  up  the  fork. 

He  could  have  wished  to  encaxap  across  the  road,  but  con- 
sulted the  convenience  of  getting  water,  and  found  that  it 
was  not  advisable.  He  immediately  fixed  places  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  front  for  the  piquets,  whilst  the  camp 
was  further  secured  by  a  chain  of  sentries  from  the  creek 
swamp  across  the  road,  and  down  the  road  to  the  light  in- 
fantry in  the  rear;  these  precautions  they  thought  sufficient 
for  the  evening.  On  Monday,  the  first  of  March,  Colonel 
Williams,  who  was  field  officer  of  the  day,  acquainted  General 
Bryan  that  the  enemy  had  been  on  their  lines  all  night. 
General  Bryan,  upon  hearing  this,  doubled  all  the  piquets, 
but  had  no  horse  to  send  out  until  about  twelve  o'clock,  when 
Major  Ross  was  prevailed  upon,  though  his  men  had  suffered 
very  much  for  want  of  provisions,  and  their  horses  for  want  of 
forage.  Here  General  Bryan  adds  how  exceedingly  uneasy 
he  felt  when  he  considered  the  long,  fatiguing  march  the  men 
had  undergone,  how  wretchedly  they  were  equipped,  and  how 
terribly  they  needed  rest. 

By  an  act  of  the  Continental  Congress  on  May  4,  1776, 
William  Bryan,  Esquire,  was  appointed  brigadier  general  of 
the  militia  for  the  ISTew  Bern  district.  (See  Colonial  Rec- 
ords, Vol.  10,  p.  563.)  This  accounts  for  the  prominent  part 
that  he  was  enabled  to  play  in  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek 
Bridge. 


WILLIAM    BRYAjSJ"    OF    CEAVEN    COUNTY  109 

General  Bryan  was  not  tlie  William  Bryan  that  is  spoken 
of  in  "Governor  Tryon  of  IN'ortli  Carolina,"  by  Marshall  Hay- 
wood, as  is  the  current  opinion,  for  in  that  volume  we  find 
these  words,  "The  only  officer  killed  was  the  bearer  of  the 
Royal  standard.  Ensign  William  Bryan  of  Craven  County. 
This  gentleman  was  a.  near  kinsman  of  Brigadier  General 
William  Bryan  of  the  Revolution,  and  belonged  to  the  well- 
known  Bryan  family  still  resident  in  ISTew  Bern."  (Reference, 
p.  129,  volume  on  "Governor  Tryon  of  iSTorth  Carolina.") 
These  two  men  have  been  often  confused,  but  we  can  see  from 
this  that  Brigadier-General  William  Bryan  never  raised  the 
English  King's  standard.  In  1776,  on  April  4,  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  met  at  Halifax  and  elected  General  Bryan, 
along  with  other  representative  men  of  Craven  County  to 
oppose  Royal  Government.  (See  Wheeler's  Historj^  of 
ISTorth  Carolina,  Vol.  1,  pp.  71-78.)  On  April  13,  1776, 
the  CongTess,  then  assembled  at  Halifax,  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  its  ablest  men  to  prepare  a  civil  constitution,  with 
General  Bryan  as  one  of  the  leading  men.  This  Council  of 
Safety  then  recommended  to  the  people  to  elect  on  October  15 
delegates  for  a  council  that  was  to  meet  in  Halifax  on 
ISTovember  12,  1776,  which  was  to  make  a  constitution  of  laws 
that  were  to  serve  as  a  corner-stone  for  all  laws.  (See 
Wheeler's  History  of  ISTo-rth  Carolina,  Vol.  1,  pp.  84-85.) 
General  Bryan  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for 
the  years  1780-1781  and  1782-1783.  (See  County  Records 
of  Craven  County,  p.  122.) 

In  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  13,  we  find  a  letter  written  by 
Governor  Caswell  to  General  Bryan  in  which  he  says : 

Mr.  Hardy  Bryan,  who  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  supply  the  several  detachments  ordered  to  march  from  the  regi- 
ments belonging  to  your  brigade,  having  declined  that  service,  I  am 
to  request  that  you  forthwith  direct  the  commanding  officers  of  the 
several  regiments  composing  your  brigade  to  appoint  some  persons 
to  furnish  the  men  marching  from  their  respective  regiments  with 
provisions  until  they  reach  Halifax,  N.  C,  as  this  very  necessary 
business  must  not  be  neglected. 
3 


110  THE  NOETH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

In  Colonial  Records,  Vol,  14,  p.  17,  we  find  a  letter  written 
to  Governor  Caswell  from  General  Lincoln : 

I  hope  as  soon  as  the  furloughs  of  your  nine-months  men  shall 
expire  they  will  be  forwarded  and  that  your  militia  will  be  relieved 
in  time.  The  enemy  lately  moved  as  far  as  Augusta  with,  as  I  am 
informed,  seventeen  hundred  men.  We  have  a  body  opposite  to 
oppose  their  crossing.  General  Ashe,  with  General  Bryan's  brigade, 
is  gone  up.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  that  we  prevent  the 
enemy  from  getting  into  the  upper  part  of  the  country,  from  where 
we  draw  many  of  our  supplies,  in  which  are  many  unfriendly  per- 
sons, and  by  which  our  communication  with  the  Indians  would  be 
cut  off,  and  they  be  obliged  to  turn  their  trade  and  receive  their 
supplies  through  another  channel,  which  would  plainly  not  be  to  our 
advantage. 

General  William  Brvan  married  three  times — Mrs.  Res- 
pass,  Miss  Green,  and  Miss  Mackey.  Miss  Green  was  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  James  Green  of  the  line  of  Peter  Green 
of  Burley  Hall,  England,  and  a  sister  of  the  Colonel  Joseph 
Green,  General  Bryan's  daughter,  Eleanor  Bryan,  had  the 
©ari'ings  torn  from  her  ears  by  British  soldiers,  (This  by 
tradition.)  One  day  his  wife  and  daughters  were  walking 
to  a  neighbor's  house  to  call,  and  were  surprised  by  a  ruffian 
red  coat  who  rushed  out  of  the  woods  and  pulled  the  earrings 
out  of  one  of  the  girls'  ears  and  demanded  all  of  their  jewelry. 
In  terror  they  gave  it  up,  all  but  one  girl  named  Anne,  who 
refused  to  take  off  one  of  her  rings  (which  happened  to  be 
her  engagement  ring) .  He  drew  his  sword  and  declared  that 
he  would  kill  her  if  she  did  not.  She  threw  her  hands  over 
her  head  and  said  with  her  father's  spirit,  "I  will  die  before 
vou  shall  have  it."  In  the  midst  of  this  revolting  scene  it 
is  said  that  an  aide  de  camp  of  the  British  officer  rode  upon 
the  party  just  in  time  to  witness  this  atrocity  on  the  part  of 
some  of  his  soldiers,  and  immediately  struck  to  the  ground 
with  his  saber  one  of  those  cowardly  wretches  who  died  then 
and  there.      (This  by  tradition,) 

General  Bryan  was  engaged  with  his  command  in  frequent 
collisions  with  the  British  forces  who  were  constantly  making 
incursions  on  the  inhabitants  of  Craven  County  in  the  vicinity 


WIIiLIAM   BKYAN    OF    CRAVEN    COUNTY  111 

of  Core  Creek  and  Fort  Barnwell,  his  plantation  and  resi- 
dence being  located  near  Core  Creek  at  tlie  spot  where  Mr. 
Albert  Wadsworth  now  resides.  In  one  of  the  forays  the 
British  force  greatly  outnumbering  his  command,  they  routed 
Bryan's  forces  and  came  near  capturing  him.  By  a  ruse  of 
one  of  his  faithful  slaves,  York  by  name,  he  was  secreted  by 
him  and  taken  to  an  island  in  ISTeuse  River  near  York's  home, 
and  regularly  fed  and  taken  care  of  for  several  days,  the 
negro  making  his  perilous  trips  to  General  Bryan  always  at 
night.  The  British  entered  his  dwelling,  ransacking  every 
hole  and  comer  to  find  him,  but  without  success.  This  so 
exasperated  them  that  they  ordered  the  family  out  of  the 
house  and  burned  it  to  the  gTound,  as  found  in  Colonial  Rec- 
ords, Vol.  15,  p.  627. 

Early  one  night  as  York  stepped  into  the  road  (he  had 
just  taken  his  master's  supper  to  him)  he  met  a  band  of 
Tories,  some  of  whom  knew  York  and  he  knew  them.  The 
general  was  near  enough  to  hear  the  whole  conversation. 
They  asked  the  negTO  where  his  master  was,  he  replied  that 
he  did  not  know.  "You  are  a  liar,"  they  said.  ''JSTow  tell 
us  where  he  is  and  we  will  give  you  money."  (This  part, 
which  is  traditional,  was  given  the  writer  by  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Waters,  who  has  been  unable  to  find  out  the  exact  amount  that 
was  offered  to  York. )  The  negro  still  contended  that  he  did 
not  know  where  the  general  was.  Then  they  offered  him  his 
freedom  and  still  he  held  out.  Finally ,  becoming  enraged 
they  threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  would  not  tell.  York  told 
them  to  kill  him,  even  then  they  would  not  find  where 
"Marsa"  was.  One  of  them,  so  goes  the  account,  was  going 
to  shoot  him,  but  the  captain  stopped  him,  saying,  "The  poor 
negTO  does  not  know  where  his  master  is."  So  they  went  on 
and  left  the  negro  undisturbed. 

The  general  aftei-wards  said  that  he  was  afraid  that  they 
would  hear  his  heart  beat,  so  near  were  they  to  his  hiding 
place.  The  person  above  mentioned  as  furnishing  this  source 
of  information  has  pointed  out  the  spot  where  the  general 


112  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

was  in  hiding  at  the  time.  York  was  an  honored  guest  at  the 
homes  of  all  of  General  Bryan's  children  and  grandchildren, 
and  was  often  invited  up  to  the  sideboard  to  drink  his 
French  brandy  out  of  the  cut-glass  decanters.  Like  most  of 
his  race,  and  ours  too^  York  ardently  loved  intoxicants.  He 
was  a  worthy  negro  and  lived  a  respectable  life,  the  general 
having  given  him  a  life  estate  in  lands  on  the  south  side  of 
Core  Creek,  and  this  land  is  known  to  every  one  at  the  present 
time  as  the  "York  field." 

The  Tories,  as  mentioned  above,  gave  General  Bryan 
trouble  in  that  they  burned  up  all  of  his  property  that  they 
could.  (See  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  15,  pp.  627-8.)  This 
same  passage  gives  account  of  his  revenge,  a  part  of  which  I 
will  quote: 

After  the  enemy  were  iii  possession  of  New  Bern  a  couple  of  days, 
they  evacuated  it  and  came  up  Neuse  Road  to  our  post  at  Bryan's 
Mill  (this  is  part  of  a  letter  written  from  General  Caswell  to  Gov- 
ernor Burke)  and  were  very  near  to  surprizing  the  party  there  which 
I  had  just  left  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Gorham,  who  finding 
the  enemy  advancing  in  front,  made  every  disposition  to  skirmish 
with  them,  thinking  his  right  flank  and  rear  well  covered  with  horse. 
But  on  their  approach  in  front  the  piquets  on  his  right  flank  began 
to  skirmish.  He  then  found  that  the  horse  had  not  taken  post  as 
directed,  and  ordered  a  retreat,  which  he  very  well  effected  two  miles 
across  Neuse  River.  The  enemy  lay  but  one  night  there,  burnt 
Bryan's  house,  Mr.  William  Herritage's  and  the  Cox's  dwellings,  and 
much  distressed  and  abused  their  families ;  then  moved  across  the 
country  to  Trent  River,  and  have  gone  toward  the  "Richlands"  of 
New  River.  They  let  us  accidently  find  out  that  their  intentions 
were  to  go  down  the  sound  and  destroy  all  the  salt  works.  They 
have  taken  about  fifteen  prisoners.  Their  loss  would  have  been  much 
greater  but  for  the  scarcity  of  our  ammunition  which  prevented  my 
skirmishing  to  any  great  extent.  General  Bryan,  the  Herritages  and 
Cox's  have  raised  a  party  and  burned  up  all  of  the  Tories'  houses 
near  them.  I  am  exceedingly  sorry  for  the  event  and  dread  the 
consequences.  Have  given  them  orders  to  stop  it,  but  fear  that 
I  cannot  put  an  end  to  it. 

This  letter  was  written  August  27,  1781. 
General  Bryan  was  a  trustee  of  the  school  at  'New  Bern. 
In  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  24,  p.  607,  we  find:   "The  General 


WILI.IAM   BRYAN    OF    CEAVEN    COUNTY  113 

Assembly  appointed  a  schoolhouse  at  ISTew  Bern.  This  act 
was  amended  in  1784  and  the  following  trustees  appointed: 
Hon.  Richard  Caswell,  Abner  ISTash,  John  Wright  Starkey, 
General  William  Bryan,  and  Richard  Dobbs  Speight."  He 
was  sheriff  and  lieutenant-colonel  while  Caswell  was  colonel 
of  the  regiment  during  the  year  1774-1775.  (See  Colonial 
Records,  Vol.  21,  p.  1072.) 

Colonial  Records,  Vol.  24,  p.  387,  shows  that  by  an  enact- 
ment of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina 
a  board  of  auditors  was  constituted  and  appointed  in  each  of 
the  districts  of  l^ew  Bern,  Wilmington,  Halifax,  Hiikboro, 
Edenton,  and  two  for  the  district  of  Salisbury,  each  board  to 
consist  of  three  members,  to  be  composed  of  the  following 
persons:  James  Coor,  William  Bryan  and  John  Hawks  for 
the  district  of  ISTew  Bern  (the  rest  of  the  names  I  will  not 
enumerate) . 

He  was  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress  to  see  that 
Thomas  Emery  would  remove  himself  from  the  town  of  ISTew 
Bern  within  ten  days  to  the  county  of  Dobbs,  there  to  remain 
for  the  space  of  two  months,  on  account  of  undue  practices 
which  tended  to  influence  the  minds  of  the  people  and  prevent 
the  militia  of  Craven  County  from  turning  out  in  defense 
and  protection  of  the  province.  (See  Colonial  Records, 
Vol.  10,  p.  632.) 

It  seems  that  his  detachment  was  the  center  around  which 
the  others  had  their  orders  issued  to  them.  From  Colonial 
Records,  Vol.  8,  pp.  675-676,  I  quote  the  following: 

Colonel  Ashe  will  take  command  of  the  army  and  march  with  them 
to  Colonel  Bryan's,  from  whence  the  several  detachments  will  march 
under  the  command  of  their  respective  commanding  oflficers  to  their 
particular  counties  and  be  there  discharged.  The  commissary  will 
supply  the  army  with  provisions  as  usual  until  they  get  to  Colonel 
Bryan's,  and  then  furnish  the  commanding  officers  of  the  several 
detachments  with  a  sufficient  quantity  to  serve  them  to  their 
respective  homes.  The  whole  of  the  artillery  and  ammunition  to  be 
escorted  to  New  Bern  from  Colonel  Bryan's  by  the  detachment  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Leech.  The  horses  taken  in  battle  are  to 
be  divided   at  Colonel  Bryan's — one-half  to  go  to  New  Bern  with 


114  THE  NOKTH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

Colonel  Leech,  the  other  half  to  go  to  Wilmington  with  Colonel  Ashe, 
where  they  are  to  be  sold  at  public  vendue,  and  the  proceeds  to  be 
paid  to  the  public  vendue. 

General  Bryan's  advice  was  constantly  sought  and  his  opin- 
ions highly  respected.  His  appointment  on  countless  com- 
mittees shows  how  valuable  a  man  he  was  to  his  community 
in  those  terrible  days,  regardless  of  the  numerous  other  trust- 
worthy positions  that  were  held  by  him.  In  Colonial  Rec- 
ords, Vol.  10,  p.  175,  can  be  found  a  statement  to  the  effect 
that  he  was  on  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
a  plan  for  the  internal  peace,  order  and  safety  of  the  province, 
and  to  make  such  an  arrangement  in  the  civil  police  of  the 
province  as  may  tend  to  supply  in  some  measure  the  defect 
of  the  executive  powers  of  government,  arising  from  his 
Excellency's  absence.  (This  refers  to  the  absence  of  Gov- 
ernor Martin.)  •  This  body  of  men  was  also  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  propriety  of  appointing  a  committee  of  safety ; 
the  members  to  compose  it,  the  manner  and  time  of  meetings, 
qualifications  of  the  electors  and  elected,  the  number  of  which 
these  shall  consist,  etc. ;  and  further  to  report  the  necessity, 
if  any  there  be,  of  forming  other  committees  in  order  tO'  re- 
lieve the  province  in  the  present  unhappy  state  to  which  it 
was  subjected. 

That  he  was  a  man  of  some  kindness  of  heart  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  he  expressed  his  desire  and  willingTiess  to  pardon 
one  Reynold  McDugall,  who  was  a  boy  of  about  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  condemned,  on  August  9,  1775,  to  death 
for  murder.  The  case  was  one  of  pronounced  guilt,  but 
owing  to  the  youthfulness  of  the  criminal  and  the  dependence 
of  his  mother  upon  him.  General  Bryan  was  in  favor  of 
pardoning  him.  This  pardon  was  gTanted.  (See  Colonial 
Records,  Vol.  9,  pp.  683-685.) 

William  Bryan,  Church  Warden  of  Christ  Parish!  of 
Craven  County,  was,  as  we  can  see,  an  influential  man  in  his 
church.     For  reference  to  his  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 


WILLIAM  BEYAN  OF  CRAVEN  COUNTY         115 

Episcopal  Churcli  see  the  ISTortli  Carolina  Historical'  and 
Genealogical  Register,  Vol.  2,  jSTo.  2,  and  paragraph  11. 

He  resigned  as  brigadier-general  in  1779.  (See  Colonial 
Records,  Vol.  13,  pp.  754,  755,  793,  807,  808.) 

General  Bryan  owned  a  large  body  of  land  where  Tuscarora 
now  stands.  He  built  the  mill  on  Core  Creek  just  west  of 
his  home,  which  was  at  this  time  the  most  famous  mill  in 
Eastern  IN^orth  Carolina.  The  stream  afforded  water  in  the 
greatest  drought.  It  had  two  saws  and  two  grists,  one  for 
com,  the  other  for  wheat. 

I  desire  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  Brigadier^Geueral 
William  Bryan  was  not  killed  in  the  battle  of  Alamance. 
Had  he  been  killed  in  this  battle,  which  was  a  battle  between 
the  English  Colonists  and  the  Reg-ulators,  in  May,  1771, 
he  certainly  could  not  have  been  in  a  position  to  resign 
as  brigadier-general  in  1779.  (Colonial  Records,  Vol.  13, 
p.  755.)  It  is  generally  thought  by  the  majority  of  people 
that  he  met  his  death  in  this  way.  But  our  hero  lived  on 
and  made  a  most  heroic  stand  for  his  country  that  he  loved 
so  deai'ly  and  tried  so  faithfully  to  serve,  as  I  have  tried  to 
show  in  the  above.  And  was  he  not  a  hero?  There  were 
other  men  in  the  Revolution  that  held  higher  military  posi- 
tions than  did  he,  but  he  was  ever  a  true  and  loyal  patriot,  a 
highly  respected  and  esteemed  general. 


116  JSrOETH    CAEOLINA    BOOKLET 

For  Whom  Was  Edgecombe  County  Named  ? 

By  Gaston  Lighten  stein 

It  is  said  that  Governor  David  L.  Swain  once  attempted 
to  count  the  errors  in  Wheeler's  History  of  J^orth  Carolina. 
When  the  amazing  figure  of  one  thousand,  was  reached,  he 
put  down  the  book.  Whether  this  story  be  true  or  false, 
John  H.  Wheeler  has  squeezed  more  inaccui*acies  into  a  mass 
of  valuable  matter  than  any  so-called  historian  to  my  knowl- 
edge. Yet,  with  all  its  faults,  the  work  is  worth  a  great 
deal  to  students.  Herein  they  find  a  multitude  of  details 
which  offer  an  unusual  stimulus  for  research  in  order  to 
prove  their  truth  or  falsity. 

The  first  sentence  of  the  chapter  on  Edgecombe  alleges 
that  the  county  was  formed  from  Craven.  For  this  bit  of 
misinformation  the  authority  cannot  be  determined.  Edge- 
combe was  a  precinct  from  its  origin  until  1738,  when  the 
precincts  of  the  colony  became  counties.  Whether  or  not 
Governor  Burrington's  creation  failed  to  receive  legislative 
confirmation  as  a  county  before  1741,  the  Colonial  Records 
expressly  state  that  Edgecombe  was  formed  from  Bertie. 
Otherwise,  what  does  the  follovv^ing  extract  mean:  "Bead  a 
Bill  entitled  a  Bill  for  an  Act  Appointing  that  part  of  Bertie 
Precinct  which  lies  on  the  South  Side  of  Roanoak  River  to 
be  Establisht  a  precinct  by  ye  name  of  Edgecombe."-^  Wheel- 
er's first  reference  is  to  Martin's  history,  but  the  authority 
cited  simply  says  that  the  county  of  Edgecombe,  which  had 
been  erected  by  an  order  of  Governor  Burrington  in  council, 
was  confirmed  by  law  (1741).  'No  mention  of  Craven  is 
made  by  Martin.  Before  entering  upon  the  subject  proper, 
I  respectfully  ask  that  Bertie  be  given  credit  as  the  parent  of 
Edgecombe.     Thus,  one  error  is  disposed  of. 

Sentence  two,  of  the  chapter  on  Edgecombe,  informs  us 
that  its  name  is  Saxon,  and  signifies  "a  valley  environed  with 
hills,"  and  is  derived  from  the  Earl  of  Mount  Edgecombe, 


iVol.  Ill,  p.  640. 


POE   WHOM   WAS   EDGECOMBE   NAMED  ?  llY 

who,  as  Captain  Edgecombe  of  tlie  navy,  had  sensed  with 
reputation  under  Admiral  Byng,  in  1756,  at  Minorca.  How 
Wheeler  could  write  such  a  sentence  is  beyond  my  compre- 
hension, for  he  stated  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  that 
Edgecombe  was  formed  in  1733.  The  fight,  in  which  Cap- 
tain Edgecombe  distinguished  himself,  occurred  twenty-three 
years  after  Burrington  erected  the  new  precinct.  How  could 
the  Governor  name  a  portion  of  the  Colony  in  1733  for  a  man 
who  "had  served"  in  1756  ? 

George  Edgecumbe,  first  Earl  of  Mount-Edgecumbe,  was 
bom  in  1721.  He  was  twelve  years  old,  therefore,  when 
Bertie  precinct  lost  a  big  part  of  its  territory.  It  is  true 
that,  in  1756,  this  nobleman  assisted  Admiral  Byng;  it  is 
true,  also,  that  he  rose  from  midshipman  to  the  rank  of 
admiral  in  the  English  navy,  but  the  disting-uished  services 
of  George  Edgecumbe  could  not  have  been  retroactive.  As 
a  boy  of  twelve,  he  had  almost  certainly  done  nothing  for 
which  any  honor  was  due  him  in  the  Colony  of  IsTorth  Caro- 
lina. 

Richard  Edgcumbe,  first  Baron  Edgcumbe  and  father  of 
the  admiral,  was  bom  in  1680.  In  1733,  when  Edgecombe 
precinct  was  formed,  this  gentleman  enjoyed  the  friendship 
of  Horace  Walpole;  in  fact,  he  is  said  to  have  been  popular 
with  George  II  because  he  was  shorter  than  that  diminutive 
monarch.^  He  occupied  the  position  of  a  lord  of  the  treasury 
for  a  number  of  years  and,  although  politically  corrupt  in 
his  management  of  the  Cornish  boroughs,  seems  to  have  left 
a  worthy  name  in  other  respects.  Walpole,  whom  he  served 
as  a  most  trusted  subordinate,  said  liichard  Edgcumbe  was 
"one  of  the  honestest  and  steadiest  men  in  the  world.'' 

On  the  14th  day  of  ISTovember,  1732,  Captain  Burrington, 
Governor  of  I^orth  Carolina,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  Plantations  concerning  Baby  Smith.  Most  of 
the  details  are  unrelated  to  the  present  subject  and  will  be 
omitted.     The  lordships  were  informed  that   Baby   Smith 


2  Diet,  of  Nat.  Biog.,  Vol.  XVI,  p.  377. 


118        •   THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

needed  an  Instructor  from  a  Gentleman  in  Hanover  Square. 
The  Governor  continues:  "I  thought  Smith  would  be  at  a 
great  loss  how  to  proceed  against  me.  Upon  Mr.  Ashe's  breach 
of  promise  in  not  repairing  to  London,  therefore  judged  he 
would  want  an  Instructor,  and  for  Hanover  Square  I  might 
very  well  think  that  a  fitt  place  of  Instruction,  it  was  there  I 
used  to  wait  upon  two  Gentlemen  for  advise  and  assistance 
in  my  own  affairs.  The  right  honourable  Mr.  Edgcombe, 
allways  generouse,  wise  and  benificent  is  one  of  the  persons 
mean.  '^ 

Who  was  Mr.  Edgcombe  ?  The  generous,  wise,  and  benefi- 
cent gentleman  was  very  probably  the  person  whom  Royal 
Governor  Burring-ton  selected  to  honor.  As  the  Chief  Execu- 
tive of  the  Colony  formerly  went  for  advice  and  assistance 
to  Mr.  Edgcombe,  it  is  fair  to  assume  (other  evidence  being 
unsatisfactory)  that  George  Burring-ton  showed  his  gratitude 
by  naming  one  of  the  three  precincts,  erected  in  the  year  fol- 
lowing the  date  of  the  above  letter,  for  his  proved  friend. 
But,  was  the  gentleman  Richard  Edgcumbe  'I 

A  search  through  the  Colonial  Records  reveals  the  informa- 
tion that  on  January  Y,  1755,  a  Mr.  Edgcumbe  sat  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Trade.  His  fellow  members,  present  at 
the  particular  meeting,  were:  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  Mr.  Pitt, 
Mr.  Oswald,  and  Mr.  Fane.  Although  the  first  baron  did 
not  die  until  1758,  advanced  age  would  be  strong  evidence  to 
offer  that  he  did  not  occupy  a  place  on  the  Board  of  Trade. 
His  son  Richard,  second  Baron  Edgcumbe  and  elder  brother 
of  the  admiral,  held  a  number  of  positions  in  the  service  of 
the  English  Government,  and,  like  his  father,  enjoyed  the 
friendship  of  Horace  Walpole.  While  Richard  Edgcumbe, 
the  younger,  may  have  served  on  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1755, 
he  could  not  have  been  a  friend  of  Governor  Burrington  in 
1732  because  he  was  then  only  sixteen  years  old. 

Family  history  ought  to  be  preserved,  at  least,  through 
tradition.     A  considerable  amount  of  matter,  in  the  case  of 

8  Vol.  V,  p.  480. 


FOR  WHOM   WAS   EDGECOMBE   lliTAMED  ?  119 

the  Edgcumbe  family,  lias  been  permanently  preserved,  but 
the  data  at  my  command  throw  no  direct  light  on  Edgecombe 
County.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  present  Earl  of  Mount- 
Edgecnmbe  and  asked  for  his  assistance.  He  replied  kindly 
enough  but  could  not  help  me.  Therefore,  the  question  is 
open :  for  whom  was  Edgecombe  County  named  ? 


120  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

Biographical  and  Genealogical  Memoranda 

Compiled  and  Edited  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt 

A  sketch  of  Chief  Justice  Walter  Clark  by  Mrs.  Moffitt 
appeared  in  The  Booklet  of  January,  1910. 

William  Hollisteb 

The  author  of  ''William  Bryan  of  Craven  County,  Briga- 
dier-General in  the  American  Revolution,"  is  the  son  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Slover  HoUister  of  ISFew  Bern,  ISTorth 
Carolina.  His  mother  is  a  Daughter  of  the  Revolution,  and, 
upon  request,  furnished  this  interesting  sketch.  The  ISTorth 
Carolina  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  offered  a  gold 
medal  to  schools  and  colleges  of  the  State  for  the  best  essay 
on  "Brigadier-General  William  Bryan  of  Craven  County." 
The  offer  which  w^as  sent  out  is  as  follows : 

"A  GOLD  MEDAL  FOR  BEST  ESSAY 

"The  ISTorth  Carolina  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution  offers  a  Gold  Medal  for  best  essay  on  William 
Bryan  of  Craven  County,  Brigadier  General  in  the  American 
Revolution. 

"cONDITIOlSrS  OF  CONTEST 

"1.  It  will  be  limited  to  students  of  the  colleges,  high 
schools,  public  and  private,  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

"2.  All  essays  must  be  original  work  of  the  contestants, 
giving  credit  by  quotations  where  verbatim  copying  is  resorted 
to,  and  referring  to  book  and  page  from  which  quotation  is 
made. 

"3.  Essays  must  not  exceed  3,000  words. 

"4.  In  all  essays  facts  are  to  be  stated  as  facts  and  tradi- 
tions as  traditions. 

"5.  Three  typewritten  copies  are  required  of  each  essay, 
one  copy  of  which  is  to  be  sent  to  Judge  S.  C.  Bragaw,  ex- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  GENEOLOGICAL  121 

President  of  the  :Nr.  C.  S.  A.  R.,  Washington,  I^.  C,  Mrs. 
W.  N".  Reynolds,  State  Regent  D.  A.  R.,  Winston-Salem, 
]Sr.  0.,  and  Dr.  S.  Westray  Battle,  Asheville,  IST.  C. 

"6.  These  essays  must  be  filed  with  the  above  named  per- 
sons before  May  15,  1916. 

"7.  If  several  students  in  a  college,  or  one  high  school, 
prepare  essays,  the  best  one  is  to  be  selected  from  these  by  a 
local  contest,  or  in  any  other  way  the  school  authorities  may 
prefer.  Only  one  essay,  the  best,  from  any  one  college  or 
school  can  compete  in  this  contest. 

R.  T.  Bonner,  Secretary,  E.  A.  Harrington, 

Aurora,,  N.  C.  Greensboro,  N.  C." 

Although  it  was  William  HoUister's  graduating  year  at 
Davidson  College  and  he  had  many  outside  duties — member 
Student  Council,  member  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Cabinet,  on  editorial 
staff  of  the  Davidsonian,  member  Blue  Pencil  Club,  etc. — 
his  mother  was  particularly  anxious  that  he  should  try  to 
win  this  medal,  as  General  Bryan  was  his  great-great-gTeat- 
grandfather.  He  has  had  two  years  of  medicine  at  Johns 
Hopkins  and  has  two  more  before  him. 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Historical  Commission 


ESTABLISHED  BY  CHAPTER  767,PUBLIC  LAWS  OF  1903 
AMENDED  BY  CHAPTER  714,  PUBLIC  LAWS  OF  1907 

PURPOSES 

(1)  To  collect,  (2)  to  preserve,  (3)  to  publish  original  sources 
of  North  Carolina  History 

Your  Co-operation  Invited 


The  Commission  occupies  the  only  modern,  fireproof  depository 
for  historical  records  in  North  Carolina 


MEMBERS 


J.  BRYAN  GRIMES,  Chairman__RALEiGH,  N.  C. 

W.  J.  PEELE- Raleigh,  N.  C. 

T.  M.  PITTMAN Henderson,  N.  C. 

M.  C.  S.  NOBLE _ Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 

D.  H.  hill Raleigh,  N.  O. 


SECRETARY 
R.  D.  W.  CONNOR Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Address  all  Communications  to  the  Secretary 


Notice  to  Reader: — ^When  you  finish  reading  ^lis  magazine  place  a~'dn^  cSnt^ 
stamp  on  this  notice,  mail  the  magazine,  and  it,  Willi  be  pli-JtJd;  in  tha  hands. o2  qur 
soldiers  or  sailors  destined  to  proceed  overseas,  "  ^cT  wi'a/jplngj  no  a^dre^pl- *  *  ,•     ,' 


Vol.  xvni 


JANUARY,  1919 


No.  3 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


GREAT  EVENTS 

IN 

NORTH  CAROLINA 
HISTORY 


j&.j^ 


PUBLISHED  QUARTERLY 
BY 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 
RALEIGH,  N.  C. 


CONTENTS 

John  Steele 123 

By  Abchibald  Henderson 

Thomas  Benbury — A  Brigadier-General  of  the  American 

Revolution 134 

By  EmUiY  Ryan  Benbuby  Haywood 

The  Trial  of  Henry  Wirz 143 

By  Sabah  W.  Ashe 


SINGLE  NUMBERS  35  CENTS 


$1.00  THE  YEAR 


Entered  at  the  Postoffice  at  Raleigh.  N.  C,  July  15.   1905,  under  the  Act  of 
Congress  of  March  3,  1 879 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Great  Events  in  North  Carolina  History 


Volume  XVIII  of  The  Booklet  will  be  issued  quarterly  by  the 
North  Carolina  Society,  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  beginning  July, 
1918.  The  Booklet  will  be  published  in  July,  October,  January,  and 
April.    Price  $1.00  per  year,  35  cents  for  single  copy. 

Editor: 
Miss  Maey  Hilliaed  Hinton. 

Biographical  Editor: 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

VOLUME  XVIII. 

Isaac  Shelby,  Part  II — Dr.  Archibald  Henderson. 

Other  North  Carolina  Heroines :  Margaret  McBride,  Mary  Morgan, 
Elizabeth  McCraw,  Elizabeth  Forbes,  Margaret  Caruthers,  Ann  Fer- 
gus, Rachel  Denny — Mary  Hilliard  Hinton. 

The  History  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina — Major  William  A. 
Graham. 

North  Carolina's  Poetesses,  Past  and  Present — ^Nina  Holland  Cov- 
ington. 

Calvin  Jones:  Physician,  Soldier  and  Freemason — Marshall  De- 
Lancey  Haywood. 

Reminiscences  of  Shocco  and  Jones  Springs — Old-fashioned  North 
Carolina  Summer  Resorts. 

History  of  Orange  County,  Part  II — Frank  Nash. 

Woman's  War  Work: 

(a)  Woman's  Contribution  to  the  Patriot  Cause. 

(b)  Woman's  Service  in  the  War  Between  the  States — Martha 

H.  Haywood. 

History  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina. 

General  William  R.  Davie's  Mission  to  France. 

Brief  Historical  Notes  will  appear  from  time  to  time  in  The 
Booklet,  information  that  is  worthy  of  preservation,  but  which  if  not 
preserved  in  a  permanent  form  will  be  lost. 

Historical  Book  Reviews  will  be  contributed  by  Mrs.  Nina  Holland 
Covington.  These  will  be  reviews  of  the  latest  historical  works 
written  by  North  Carolinians. 

The  Genealogical  Department  will  be  continued  with  a  page  devoted 
to  Genealogical  Queries  and  Answers  as  an  aid  to  genealogical 
research  in  the  State. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  Colonial  Dames  of  America  will  fur- 
nish copies  of  unpublished  records  for  publication  in  The  Booklet. 

Biographical  Sketches  will  be  continued  under  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

Old  Letters,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  different  periods  of  North  Carolina  History,  will  appear  here- 
after in  The  Booklet. 

This  list  of  subjects  may  be  changed,  as  circumstances  sometimes 
prevent  the  writers  from  keeping  their  engagements. 

The  histories  of  the  separate  counties  will  in  the  future  be  a 
special  feature  of  The  Booklet.  When  necessary,  an  entire  issue 
will  be  devoted  to  a  paper  on  one  county. 

Parties  who  wish  to  renew  their  subscriptions  to  The  Booklet 
for  Vol.  XVIII  are  requested  to  give  notice  at  once. 

Many  numbers  of  Volumes  I  to  XVII  for  sale. 

For  particulars  address 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 

Editor  North  Carolina  Booklet, 
"Midway  Plantation,"  Raleigh,  N.  G. 


Vol.  XVni  JANUARY,  1919  No.  3 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


'Carolina  I  Carolina  I  Heaven' s  blessings  attend  her  I 
While  zve  live  tve  will  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her' 


Published  by 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  object  of  The  Booklet  is  to  aid  in  developing  and  preserving 
North  Carolina  History.  The  proceeds  arising  from  its  publication 
will  be  devoted  to  patriotic  purposes.  Editob. 


BALEIGH 

COMMEBCIAL  PRINTING  COMPANY 

PRINTEB8   AND  BINDERS 


ADVISORY  BOARD  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


Mes,  Hubert  Haywood. 
Mbs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 
Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connoe. 
De.  D.  H.  Hill, 
De.  William  K.  Boyd. 
Capt.  S.  a.  Ashe. 
Miss  Adelaide  L,  Fries. 


Miss  Martha  Helen  Haywood. 
Db.  Richard  Dillard. 
Mb.  James  Sprunt. 
Mr.  Marshall  DeLancey  Haywood. 
Chief  Justice  Walter  Claek. 
Majob  W.  a.  Geaham. 
Db.  Charles  Lee  Smith. 


editor  : 

Miss  Mary  Hilliaed  Hinton. 

biographical  editor  : 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

^  1918-1919 


Mrs.  Marshall  Williams, 
Regent,  Faison. 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt,  Honorary 
Regent,  Richmond,  Va. 

Mrs.  Thomas  K.  Beuner, 
Honorary  Regent,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 
1st  Vice-Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  2d  Vice- 
Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  P.  Pell,  Recording 
Secretary,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Winifred  Faison,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  Faison. 


Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Historian, 

Faison. 
Mrs.  Charles  Lee  Smith, 

Treasurer,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  Ramsey,  Registrar, 

Raleigh. 
Mrs.  John  E.  Ray,  Custodian  of 

Relics,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  Laurence  Covington, 

Executive  Secretary,  Raleigh. 
Mrs  Charles  Wales, 

Genealogist,  Edenton. 
Miss  Catherine  Albertson, 

Junior  Director,  Elizabeth  City. 


CHAPTER  REGENTS 

Bloomsbury  Chapter Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  Regent. 

Penelope  Barker  Chapter ,  Regent. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Chapter Mrs.  I.  M.  Meekins,  Regent. 

General  Francis  Nash  Chapter Miss  Rebecca  Cameron,  Regent. 

Roanoke  Chapter Mrs.  F.  M.  Allen,  Regent. 

Mary  Slocumb  Chapter Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Regent. 

Colonel  Thomas  Robeson  Chapter Mrs.  Annie  Buie,  Regent. 

Tuscarora  Chapter Mrs.  C.  H.  Hunter,  Regent. 


Founder  of  the  North  Carolina  Society  and  Regent  1896-1902 ; 

Mbs.  SPIER  WHITAKER.* 

Regent  1902: 

Mrs.  D.  H.  HILL,  SR.f 

Regent  1902-1906: 

Mrs.  THOMAS  K.  BRUNER. 

Regent  1906-1910: 

Mrs.  B.  E.  MOFFITT. 

Regent  1910-1917: 

Miss  MARY  HILLIARD  HINTON. 


♦Died   November   25,    1911. 
tDied  December  12,  1904. 


John  Steele 
Member  First  and  Second  United  States  Congresses  ; 
Comptroller    ot    the    Treasury    under   Washing- 
ton,  Adams,    and  Jefferson 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Vol.  XVIII  JANUARY,  1919  No.  3 

John  Steele 

By  Akchibai>d  Hendeeson 

"North  Carolina  has  produced  few  individuals,"  says  that 
astute  judge  of  men  and  affairs,  David  L.  Swain,  in  speaking 
of  John  Steele,  "whose  public  services  offer  more  interesting 
topics  for  history  and  biography."  Modest  to  a  fault,  ex- 
ceptionally sensitive  in  disposition,  he  was  at  once  rarely 
versatile  and  efficient.  In  the  earliest  years  of  the  Republic, 
with  his  hand  upon  the  nation's  pulse,  he  numbered  among 
his  friends  and  familiar  correspondents  such  figures  as  Wash- 
ington, Adams,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Albert 
Gallatin,  Joseph  Habersham,  James  Iredell,  Alfred  Moore, 
ITathaniel  Macon,  and  William  R.  Davie. 


John  Steele,  named  after  his  father's  brother,  was  born  at 
Salisbury,  iN^orth  Carolina,  on  November  16,  1764.  His 
mother  was  first  married  to  Robert  Gillespie,  who  was  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians  in  March,  1760.  Her  second  husband 
was  William  Steel,  Commissioner  of  the  Borough  Town  of 
Salisbury.  Known  to  history  as  Elizabeth  Maxwell  Steel, 
she  endeared  herself  to  her  country  by  presenting  to  General 
Nathan  ael  Greene,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  his  career,  her 
savings  of  years  for  the  public  service. 

John  Steele  received  his  early  education  at  the  "English 
School"  in  Salisbury  of  which  his  mother  thought  so  highly. 
An  important  influence  was  exerted  upon  young  Steele  dur- 
ing his  earlier  years  by  Dr.  Samuel  Eusebius  McCorkle,  the 
husband  of  his  half-sister,  Margaret  Gillespie.  As  a  youth, 
Steele  attended  the  famous  Latin  School,  Clio's  Nursery, 
near  present  Statesville,  North  Carolina,  opened  by  the  Rev. 
James  Hall  about  1775.     Under  the  influence  of  McCorkle 


124  THE  NORTH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

and  Hall,  wlio  were  inspired  by  tlie  teachings  of  J^assau  Hall 
and  the  Revolutionary  zeal  of  John  Witherspoon,  Steele 
early  exhibited  a  deep  love  of  country  and  a  flaming  passion 
for  liberty.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  against  his  mother's  will, 
he  enlisted  in  the  Continental  Army;  and  soon  afterwards 
his  mother  is  writing  to  him  as  follows :  "Since  you  have 
chosen  that  manner  of  life,  it  would  give  me  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  hear  of  your  acquitting  yourself  with  honor  and 
faithfulness  to  your  country." 

After  the  expiration  of  his  military  service,  young  Steele 
returned  to  Salisbury  and  established  a  mercantile  business, 
which  doubtless  often  sent  him  on  business  visits  to  Cross 
Creek,  near  present  Fayetteville,  the  economic  center  of  the 
Scotch  mercantile  trade.  Here  he  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  the  well-known  merchant,  Robert  Cochran.  Attracted  by 
the  charms  of  Mr.  Cochran's  daughter-in-law,  Mary  l^esfield, 
he  successfully  pressed  his  suit  and  was  married  to  the  woman 
of  his  choice  on  February  9,  1783.  In  a  letter  to  his  uncle, 
Ephraim  Steele,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania  (Salisbury, 
April  24,  1787),  John  Steele  writes :  "Mr.  McCorkle's  family, 
my  mother's  and  my  own  are  well.  I  have  had  two  children 
but  was  unhappy  to  lose  one  last  summer,  as  well  as  my  old 
friend  and  benefactor,  Robert  Cochran  of  Fayetteville,  with 
whom  I  was  concerned  in  trade.  Since  his  death  I  have 
conducted  the  business  alone  with  tolerable  success.  Goods 
retail  high  in  this  place.  The  great  quantity  of  paper  money 
which  circulates  through  this  state  is  a  heavy  drawback  upon 
our  prosperity." 

John  Steele  early  displayed  not  only  unusual  capability 
in  commercial  enterprise,  but  also  marked  talent  as  a  student 
of  public  affairs.  On  May  5,  1784,  he  was  chosen  Assessor 
for  the  Town  of  Salisbury ;  on  March  12,  1787,  he  was  quali- 
fied as  Town  Commissioner ;  and  for  many  years  he  held  the 
office  of  Justice  of  the  County  Court  of  Rowan.  His  con- 
spicuous interest  in  public  affairs,  together  with  his  general 
popularity,  soon  brought  him  into  public  notice.     In  1787, 


JOHN    STEELE  125 

at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons as  the  representative  of  the  Town  of  Salisbury. 
"Though  his  attention  had  been  devoted  to  mercantile  and 
agricultural  pursuits/'  observes  Moore,  the  historian,  "he 
developed  a  strength  and  clearness  in  his  address  that  were 
astonishing."  The  public  confidence  reposed  in  young  Steele 
was  demonstrated  by  his  election  to  represent  the  town  in  the 
convention,  held  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  propriety 
of  adopting  the  new  Federal  Constitution,  begun  at  Hills- 
borough on  July  21,  1788.  A  remarkable  testimony  to 
Steele's  ability  is  the  fact  that,  in  a  membership  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty,  he  is  ranked  by  Iredell's  biographer  with 
the  great  leaders,  James  Iredell,  William  R.  Davie,  Samuel 
Johnston,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight  and  Archibald  Maclaine, 
as  one  of  the  half-dozen  most  prominent  Federalists  in  the 
convention.  "He  was  universally  regarded,"  says  McRee, 
"as  a  very  enlightened  politician,  and  accomplished  gentle- 
man." By  Hubbard,  Davie's  biographer,  Steele  is  described 
as  diligent,  clear-sighted,  and  for  his  knowledge  of  men  and 
skillful  marshaling  of  their  forces  a  valuable  ally  of  the 
cause  of  the  Constitution.  When  Steele  was  instrumental 
in  having  the  new  county  formed  out  of  Rowan  named  Iredell, 
James  Iredell  wrote  him  a  letter  of  hearty  thanks  (Edenton, 
February  7,  1789),  in  which  he  said:  "My  opportunities  of 
rendering  any  public  service  have  been  very  few;  but  no 
man's  heart  is  more  warmly  disposed  to  the  public  interest 
than  mine.  I  think  neither  you  nor  myself  could  give 
stronger  proofs  of  it,  than  in  supporting  with  all  the  earnest- 
ness in  our  power  a  Constitution  which,  in  my  opinion,  gave 
us  the  only  chance  of  being  rescued  from  the  dreadful  evil  of 
universal  anarchy,  which  is  as  far  removed  from  true  liberty 
as  despotism  itself."  Again  Steele  represented  Salisbury, 
both  in  the  Legislature  of  1788  and  in  the  Convention  of 
1789,  which  met  at  Fayetteville  in  November  and  by  a  large 
majority  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution. 


126  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

II 

On  account  of  the  prominent  part  he  had  played  in  politi- 
cal affairs,  Steele  was  put  forward  by  the  people  generally, 
irrespective  of  faction,  in  the  Salisbury  District,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  elected  to  the  First  United  States  Congress, 
which  convened  at  Philadelphia  on  March  4,  1Y89.^  Dur- 
ing the  two  terms  of  his  service  in  Congress,  Steele  won  real 
and  merited  distinction.  His  speeches  were  marked  by  great 
earnestness,  delivered  with  dignity,  and  stamped  with  the 
authority  which  rests  on  knowledge.  Popularly  classed  as  a 
Federalist,  who  had  won  his  seat  as  an  active  supporter  of  the 
Constitution,  he  showed  himself  to  be  neither  a  partisan  sup- 
porter of  administrative  measures  nor  a  colorless  recorder  of 
Federalist  opinion.  In  reality,  his  was  the  attitude  of  the 
statesman  who  is  above  party.  The  great  veneration  he  felt 
for  Washington  was  tempered  by  the  consciousness  that  Con- 
gress, out  of  an  excess  of  admiration  for  this  great  man, 
had  ''by  law  invested  him  with  powers  not  delegated  by  the 
Constitution,  which  would  have  been  intrusted  to  no  other." 
Steele  greatly  admired  the  genius  of  his  friend,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  as  administrator  and  financier.  Yet  he  was  by  no 
means  an  unqualified  adherent  of  Hamilton ;  and  on  impor- 
tant occasions,  he  opposed  measures  of  Hamilton's  which  he 
regarded  as  unwise  and  impractical.  Supported  by  his  col- 
leagues, he  opposed  Hamilton's  plan  of  the  assumption  by  the 
Hnion  of  all  the  debts  of  the  States  contracted  in  gaining 
American  independence,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  impossible 
to  adjust  the  account  equitably.  In  conformity  with  well- 
considered  views,  he  supported  the  bill  for  establishing  a 
national  bank,  which  was  so  vigorously  fought  by  Jefferson 
and  his  followers  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality.  In 
the  fight  on  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  voted  uniformly 

lAs  North  Carolina  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  until 
November  21,  1789,  the  State  had  no  representation  until  the  second  of  the 
three  sessions  of  the  first  Congress.  John  Steele  took  his  seat  on  April  19, 
1790.  His  colleagues  in  this  Congress  were  John  Sevier,  Timothy  Bloodworth, 
John  B.  Ashe,  and  Hugh  Williamson,  the  last  a  Federalist.  Both  the  Senators 
from  North  Carolina,  Samuel  Johnston  and  Benjamin  Hawkins,  were  Fed- 
eralists. 


JOHN    STEELE  127 

in  indorsement  of  Hamilton,  being  supported  by  Williamson 
and  opposed  by  Asbe  and  Macon.  In  recognition  of  the  legal 
insight  of  Steele,  he  was  appointed,  along  with  Grerry  and 
Williamson,  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  adapt  to  the  State  of  ]S[orth 
Carolina  the  judiciary  laws  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  principally  through  the  instrumentality  of  John 
Steele  and  Judge  Spruce  Macay,  the  Mayor  of  the  town,  that 
President  Washington,  on  his  tour  of  the  South  in  1791,  was 
so  elaborately  greeted  and  hospitably  entertained  by  the 
municipality  of  Salisbury.  In  his  diary.  May  30,  1791, 
Washing-ton  records :  "In  about  10  miles  at  the  line  which 
divides  Mecklenburg  from  Rowan  Counties,  I  met  a  party 
of  horse  belonging  to  the  latter,  who  came  from  Salisbury 
to  escort  me  on.  ...  I  was  also  met  5  miles  from  Salis- 
bury by  the  Mayor  of  the  Corporation,  Judge  McKay,  and 
many  others; — Mr.  Steele,  Representative  for  the  District, 
was  so  polite  as  to  come  all  the  way  to  Charlotte  to  meet 
me.  .  .  .  Dined  at  a  public  dinner  given  by  the  Citi- 
zens of  Salisbury;  &  in  the  afternoon  drank  tea  at  the 
same  plac€  with  about  20  ladies,  who  had  been  assembled 
for  the  occasion."  In  his  address  of  welcome,  the  Mayor 
voiced  the  delight  of  the  inhabitants  in  Washington's  visit 
and  instanced  "the  fervor  of  the  universal  welcome  which 
the  grateful  people  gave  him."  Washington's  reply,  which 
expressed  by  indirection  his  satisfaction  over  the  action 
of  the  people  of  the  Salisbury  district  in  sending  Steele,  a 
Federalist,  to  the  first  United  States  Congress,  contains  these 
words :  "The  interest  you  are  pleased  to  take  in  my  personal 
welfare  excites  a  sensibility  proportional  to  your  goodness. 
While  I  make  the  most  grateful  acknowledgment  for  that 
goodness,  allow  me  to  observe  that  your  own  determination, 
cooperating  with  that  of  your  fellow-citizens  throughout  the 
Union,  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  the  federal  government, 
affords  a  better  assurance  of  order  and  public  prosperity, 
than  the  best  meant  endeavors  of  any  individual  could  give." 

The  following  letter,  which  Steele  wrote  to  Governor  Alex- 
ander Martin  ^New  York,  May  17,  1790),  during  the  session 


128  THE    NORTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

of  the  first  Congress^  is  interesting  as  throwing  light  upon 
important  political  questions  of  the  day : 

Sib  : — A  great  variety  of  business  at  present  occupies  the  attention 
of  Congress,  and  tho  the  sessions  commenced  with  the  year,  there  is 
little  probability  of  adjourning  previous  to  the  1st  of  August. 

The  President  is  dangerously  ill  of  a  pectoral  complaint,  the 
opinion  of  the  faculty  is  against  a  recovery.  Before  this  attack  he 
was  engaged  in  extending  his  appointments  to  the  several  depart- 
ments of  No.  Carolina  and  the  ceded  Territory,  but  the  secrets  of  his 
cabinet  are  retained  in  such  absolute  darkness,  that  were  I  to 
attempt  to  give  you  information,  it  would  be  mere  conjecture.  If 
this  stroke  should  unfortunately  prove  fatal,  the  Vice  President  will 
be  in  office,  by  virtue  of  his  present  appointment,  until  the  4th  of 
March,  1793.  An  event  melancholy  indeed.  Shou'd  it  happen,  per- 
haps it  wou'd  have  been  better  for  the  United  States,  that  Gen'l 
Washington  had  never  been  chosen ;  for  relying  on  his  virtue  and 
abilities.  Congress  have  in  repeated  instances,  by  law,  invested  him 
with  powers  not  delegated  by  the  Constitution,  which  I  suppose  would 
have  been  intrusted  to  no  other  man.  These  powers  can  never  be 
recalled  without  the  consent  of  his  successor  in  ofiice,  or  an  union 
of  sentiment,  which  in  these  factious  times,  is  not  to  be  expected. 

The  assumption  of  the  State  debts,  we  are  told,  will  be  brought 
forward  next  week  in  a  new  dress.  This  is  intended,  either  to  gull 
some  of  the  more  moderate  members ;  or  by  delaying  the  progress  of 
public  business  constrain  some  of  the  Georgians  or  No.  Carolinians 
(who  are  anxious  to  return)  to  obtain  leave  of  absence.  Or  the 
Eastern  members  have  been  tampering  with  the  Pennsylvanians,  by 
offering  the  permanent  residence  of  Congress  to  Philadelphia.  This 
surmise  I  have  taken  occasion  to  speak  of  to  those  who  are  most 
zealously  attached  to  the  interest  of  that  city,  holding  out  as  a 
threat  that  if  they  did  desert  us,  we  shou'd  most  assuredly  desert 
them ;  so  that  eventually  Philadelphia  might  lose  more  by  the  bar- 
gain than  she  would  gain. 

A  bill  has  lately  been  passed  by  the  Senate,  and  sent  to  us  for  con- 
currence, designed  to  prohibit  any  further  intercourse  with  Rhode 
Island,  until  she  shall  ratify.  It  is  tyrannical  and  arbitrary  in  the 
highest  degree,  and  the  author  of  it,  indeed  the  Senate  by  passing  it, 
seem  to  have  lost  sight  of  that  political  connection  which  once 
existed,  and  of  that  spirit  of  moderation,  and  mutual  forbearance, 
which  ought  forever  to  subsist  between  governments  related  as  they 
are  to  us,  as  well  as  between  individuals.  That  State,  tho'  com- 
paratively small,  was  not  backward  in  the  late  Revolution.  She 
performed  essential  services  in  the  common  cause.  She  sustained 
important  sacrifices,  and  is  therefore  entitled  to  respect.  How  far 
in  her  present  politicks  she  has  been  wrong,  or  how  far  right,  are 
questions  which  time  only  can  decide. 


JOHN    STEELE  "  129 

1  hope  the  bill  will  not  pass  our  house.  If  it  shou'd,  there  will  be 
a  proof  given  to  the  world,  of  the  sandy  foundation  of  all  human 
friendship,  or  political  connections. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be. 
Sir, 
With  sincere  attachment. 

Your  Excellency's 

Most  Humble  Servant, 

Jno.   Steele. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  popular  appreciation  in  whicli  his 
services  in  the  first  Congress  were  held,  may  be  read  today 
the  following  account  in  the  North  Carolina  Chronicle;  or, 
Fayetteville  Gazette,  of  ISTovember  8,  1790 : 

On  the  last  day  of  the  supreme  court  at  Salisbury,  the  grand  jury 
appointed  their  foreman,  William  Dent,  esquire.  Major  John  Crump 
and  Major  Henry  Terrell,  a  committee  to  wait  upon  John  Steele, 
esquire,  with  the  following  address : 

Sausbtjby  District,  Supebiok  Court, 

September  Term,  1790. 
The  grand  jury  for  the  district  aforesaid,  sensibly,  and  deeply 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  duties  of  their  representatives 
in  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  return  their  thanks  to  the 
honourable  John  Steele,  esquire,  for  his  spirited  support,  and  faithful 
attention,  to  the  interests  of  this  state,  during  the  last  session  of 
congress. 

The  grand  jury  would  conceive  themselves  wanting  in  attention  to 
the  proper  interests  of  the  government  in  general,  and  this  State  in 
particular,  should  they  withhold  this  testimonial  of  their  approbation 
of  Mr.  Steele's  conduct,  as  the  representative  of  a  free  people. 

William  Dent,  foreman.  Zachariah  Ray. 

John  Crump.  Jacob  T.  Longing. 

Harry  Terrell.  Walter  Braley. 

Joel  Lewis.  Charles  Polk. 

William  Bethell.  Obediah  W.  Benge. 

Thomas  King.  Joseph  Hayden. 

James  Cotton.  Jacob  Clinard. 

John  Howey.  John    (illegible). 

William  Kindall.  James  Adams.^ 

During  his  two  terms  in  Congxess,  Steele  took  an  active 
part  in  debate.     Upon  the  question  of  the  ratio  of  representa- 

2  For  this  account  I  am  Indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor, 
Secretary  of  the  North  Carolina  Historical   Commission. 


130  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

tion,  he  made  extended  speeches^  advocating  one  Representa- 
tive for  every  thirty-five  thousand  persons ;  and  pleaded  for  a 
recognition  of  the  lessons  taught  by  experience  in  America, 
rather  than  the  following  of  precedents  from  Great  Britain, 
vs^hich  did  not  properly  apply  to  American  conditions.  He 
spoke  in  favor  of  l^athaniel  Macon's  plan  for  protecting  the 
"infant  industry"  of  cotton  raising;  and  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  this  "infant  industry"  was  one  day  to  become  the  greatest 
industry  in  America,  it  is  interesting  to  recall  Steele's  dec- 
laration that  at  this  early  date  "the  farmers  of  North  Caro- 
lina had  gone  largely  into  the  cultivation  of  that  article." 

Not  given  by  disposition  to  indulgence  in  oratorical  flights, 
or  perfervid  declarations  that  he  was  a  champion  of  the  "Lib- 
erties of  the  People,"  Steele  showed  himself  to  be  singTilarly 
fairminded  and  impartial.  He  was  an  independent  in  poli- 
tics at  the  moment  when  political  parties  were  just  beginning 
to  assume  definite  coufrontation.  A  striking  illustration  of 
his  independence  and  his  transparent  honesty  is  afforded  in 
the  case  of  his  firm  opposition  to  Clark's  resolution  for  calling 
out  the  militia  to  protect  the  Southwestern  frontiers.  Famil- 
iar with  conditions  on  the  Indian  border,  Steele  did  not 
hesitate  to  tell  the  truth,  espousing  the  unpopular  side  with- 
out regard  for  the  effect  such  action  might  have  upon  his  own 
political  fortunes.  His  subsequent  defeat  for  a  third  term 
in  Congress  was  probably  due  to  the  speech  in  which  the  fol- 
lowing veracious  though  unpopular  assertion  was  made : 

That  the  white  people  are  sometimes  and  often  the  aggressors  (in 
conflicts  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians  on  the  frontier)  did 
appear  from  documents  then  on  the  files,  that  some  such  instances 
had  come  within  my  own  knowledge,  and  as  the  information  then  to 
be  acted  upon  only  came  from  one  of  the  parties,  a  recollection  of 
what  human  nature  is  under  the  influence  of  passion,  should  cause  the 
house  to  receive  it  with  caution. 

On  December  19,  1792,  Steele  introduced  a  resolution  for 
reducing  the  military  establishment  of  the  United  States, 
assigning  two  motives  for  his  action :  to  afford  more  effectual 
protection  to  the  frontiers;  and  to  obviate  the  necessity  for 


JOHlSr    STEELE  131 

new  taxes.  On  December  28,  1792,  and  on  January  5,  1793, 
he  made  able  and  extended  speeches  in  advocacy  of  his  resolu- 
tion. Drawing  illustrations  from  flagrant  instances  of  the 
failure  of  army  regulars,  who  were  only  mechanical  in  their 
discipline,  to  cope  successfully  with  Indian  tactics,  Steele 
eloquently  asserted  the  superiority  of  the  frontiersmen  as 
militia  in  engaging  and  conquering  the  savage  foe.  Worthy 
of  record  is  his  tribute  to  the  militia,  and  in  especial  to  the 
great  Indian  fighters  of  the  Old  Southwest : 

Who  fought  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill?  Who  fought  the  battles 
of  New  Jersey?  TSTio  have  fought  the  Indians  so  often  with  success, 
under  Generals  Wilkinson,  Scott,  Sevier,  and  others?  Who  marched 
in  1776  under  General  Rutherford,  through  the  Cherokee  nation,  laid 
waste  their  country,  and  forced  them  to  peace?  Who  fought  the 
battles  of  Georgia,  under  Clark  and  Twiggs?  Who  fought  the  battles 
of  South  Carolina,  under  the  command  of  an  honorable  member 
now  present? 

Who  fought  the  ever-memorable  battles  of  Cowpens,  Kings  Moun- 
tain, Hanging  Rock,  Blackstocks,  the  pivots  on  which  the  Revolution 
turned  in  the  Southern  States?  In  short,  who  fought  all  the  battles 
of  the  Southern  States,  while  we  had  a  mere  handful  of  regular 
troops,  scarcely  the  shadow,  much  less  the  reality  of  an  army? 

They  were  all  fought  by  freemen,  the  substantial  freeholders  of 
the  country ;  the  men  attached  to  the  Revolution  from  principle ; 
men  who  were  sensible  of  their  rights  and  fought  for  them. 

Ill 

While  the  JSTorth  Carolina  representatives  were  unanimous 
on  the  motion  to  reduce  the  army,  as  amended  by  Williamson, 
and  in  opposition  to  extending  the  Indian  war,  Steele's  ad- 
vocacy of  these  measures  was  adduced  against  him  to  his 
damage  by  political  opponents  in  proof  of  his  alleged  lack 
of  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  West  and  indifference  to 
the  sufferings  of  the  borderers  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 
During  his  stay  in  Congress,  he  wrote  numerous  political 
letters  to  leading  men  of  his  district,  irrespective  of  party ; 
and  transmitted  a  wealth  of  information  on  national  affairs 
to  his  constituents  through  the  medium  of  Dr.  John  Sibley, 
editor  of  the  Fayetteville  Gazette.  In  answer  to  the  charge 
of  having  been  independent   in  politics,    Steele  vigorously 


132  THE    JSrOETH    CAEOLINA    BOOKLET 

retorted:  "I  represented  the  division,  and  was  not  elected 
by  or  for  any  particular  party.  Being  the  representative  of 
all,  I  attempted  to  give  information  to  all  .  .  ."  In  the 
days  of  his  congressional  service  in  Philadelphia,  Steele 
became  a  close  friend  of  Alexander  Hamilton;  and  through 
this  connection,  his  acquaintance  with  Washington,  by  whom 
he  was  held  in  high  regard,  and  the  bent  of  his  own  political 
ideas  and  convictions,  he  gradually  became  more  deeply  im- 
bued with  Federalist  principles.  His  correspondence  with 
Hamilton  is  rich  in  historical  interest ;  and  the  following  ex- 
tract from  one  of  his  letters  (Steele  to  Hamilton,  Salisbury, 
March  17,  1Y93)  is  illuminating: 

To  support  a  constitution  which  has  cost  the  best  people  in  the 
Union  so  much  pains  to  establish,  to  counteract  the  nefarious  de- 
signs of  its  enemies,  and  to  rally  round  the  Federal  government  as 
a  Standard  where  our  most  precious  liberties  are  well  secured,  is 
the  duty  of  men  who  possess  talents,  property,  reputation,  or  in- 
fluence. Of  this,  if  ever  I  doubted,  my  doubts  have  been  removed 
by  late  political  occurrences,  none  of  which  are  more  alarming  to 
the  friends  of  systematic  and  stable  government,  than  the  unwise, 
indecent,  and  poisonous  opposition,  to  the  declaration  of  neutrality. 
The  decided  and  patriotic  part  which  the  President  took  on  that 
subject,  has  raised  him  some  enemies  here,  as  well  as  in  Philada. ; 
but  it  has  increased  the  veneration  and  love  of  all  the  soJ)er-minded 
well-wishers  of  national  prosperity. 

Our  state  elections  are  over.  I  have  accepted  a  seat  in  the  Assem- 
bly. Colo.  Davie,  whom  you  have  often  heard  me  speak  of,  is  also  in, 
and  if  there  can  be  a  necessity  for  such  a  measure,  I  am  sure  the 
Legislature  wou'd  express  in  decided  terms  an  approbation  of  the 
wisdom  which  dictated  that  Proclamation.  Though  I  am  sure  that 
success  wou'd  attend  such  a  motion  through  both  houses,  yet  I  cannot 
help  questioning  the  propriety  of  an  individual  state  interfering  at 
all,  either  to  approve  or  censure  the  administration  of  the  general 
Government. 

No  step  shall  be  taken  in  relation  to  it  without  due  deliberation, 
and  advice  wou'd  not  be  unacceptable.  Neutrality  is  the  wish  of 
every  good  man  in  this  State  who  has  sense  enough  to  know  his  coun- 
try's solid  interest,  and  the  president  may  be  assured  of  this,  without 
our  troubling  him  to  answer  a  profusion  of  addresses. 


JOHN    STEELE  133 

IV 

In  a  letter  to  the  Grand  Jury  of  Salisbury  in  1Y92,  Steele 
gave  an  account  of  his  stewardship  in  Congress,  and  expressed 
his  intention  of  permitting  his  name  to  be  presented  before 
the  Legislature  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate. 
At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  at  New  Bern  in  November 
and  December,  1Y92,  he  was  a  prominent  candidate  for 
Senator,  along  with  William  Blount  and  Alexander  Martin. 
Largely  as  the  result  of  violently  partisan  accusations  by 
Montford  Stokes,  to  the  effect  that  Steele  had  fashioned  his 
views  "on  the  political  complection  of  his  correspondents," 
that  his  principles  were  "all  aristocratical,"  and  that  he  was 
the  devoted  adherent  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  Steele  was 
defeated — Martin  winning  the  seat  by  a  small  majority. 

In  1795,  Steele  was  put  forward  as  the  candidate  of  the 
Federalist  party  for  United  States  Senator.  His  Republican 
opponent  was  Timothy  Bloodworth.  It  was  locally  urged 
against  Steele  by  leading  opponents,  in  especial  by  Joseph 
McDowell  of  Quaker  Meadows,  that  he  "was  considered  by 
a  gTcat  many  members  from  the  Southern  States  ...  to 
have  joined  the  aristocratical  party"  and  to  have  become  an 
ardent  adherent  of  Alexander  Hamilton.  In  addition  to 
this  local  opposition,  outside  influence,  notably  that  of  Pierce 
Butler  of  South  Carolina,  was  brought  to  bear  against  Steele 
in  question  of  his  "steady  Republicanism."  Much  to  the 
chagrin  of  the  Federalist  leaders,  who  had  a  poor  opinion  of 
Bloodworth's  ability,  Steele  was  defeated  in  consequence  of 
the  charges  so  dexterously  advanced  by  his  opponents.  Dur- 
ing this  period,  Steele  remained  prominently  in  the  public 
eye.  On  January  8,  1794,  he  was  appointed,  by  Governor 
Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  Major  General  of  the  Fourth  Divi- 
sion of  Militia  of  North  Carolina.  In  1794  and  1795,  he 
represented  the  Salisbury  District  in  the  North  Carolina 
House  of  Commons,  and  played  an  influential  part  in  the 
proceedings. 


134  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

Thomas  Benbury — A  Brigadier  General  of  the 
American  Revolution 

By  Emily  Ryan  Benbuey  Haywood 
(Mrs.  Hubert  Haywood) 

Thomas  Benburj  was  bom  in  1736,  at  his  father's  home, 
"Banbury  Hall,"  five  miles  from  Edenton  on  the  Albemarle 
Sound.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Benbury,  bom  1707,  died 
1774,  his  wife's  name  being  Mary.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  court  in  1756,  and  also  a  vestryman  of  St.  Paul's  Parish, 
Edenton. 

The  grandson  of  William  Banbury,  who  married  Jean  or 
Jane  Minsey,  and  is  first  mentioned  in  the  court  records  of 
Chowan  County  in  1684,  when  he  had  a  deed  recorded  as  a 
gift  from  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  Dorothy  Minsey,  at  which 
time  he  was  said  to  be  twenty-one  years  old.  This  was  about 
twenty-five  years  after  the  first  permanent  settlement  of 
ISTorth  Carolina.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  vestry  of  the 
Church  of  England  ever  held  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  which  was 
that  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Edenton,  on  which  he  served  con- 
tinuously until  1708,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  first  vestry 
in  JSTorth  Carolina,  that  of  1705,  which  ever  voluntarily 
assessed  itself  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church. 

Tradition  says  that  the  family  of  Banbury,  as  it  was 
originally  called,  settled  first  on  the  James  River,  later  mov- 
ing to  I^ansemond  County,  Va. ;  finally  migTating  to  Albe- 
marle, in  the  Province  of  Carolina,  as  this  whole  section  was 
then  known.  The  supposition  is  that  the  family  originally 
emigrated  from  in,  or  near,  the  town  of  Banbury,  in  England, 
which  is  only  a  short  distance  from  London  and  the  town  of 
Oxford.  Just  when  the  final  change  in  the  name  was  made 
is  not  known,  but  it  must  have  been  during  the  life  time  of 
William,  for  in  1701,  as  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  St.  Paul's 
Parish,  it  is  written  Banbury,  but  in  his  will  he  signs 
himself  William  Benbury,  and,  so  far,  there  appears  to  have 


THOMAS    BEWBUKY  135 

been  no  further  use  of  the  original  form.  It  was  a  common 
custom  among  the  early  Colonists  to  vary  the  spelling  of  a 
name.  For  more  than  a  hundred  years  Banbury  or  Benbury 
Hall  remained  in  the  family,  until  finally  in  the  course  of 
time  it  passed  into  other  hands,  and  its  name  was  changed  to 
"Athol,"  by  which  name  it  is  now  known.  It  is  owned  by 
Mr.  Julian  Wood,  of  Edenton,  IST.  C,  whose  wife  is  the  grand- 
daughter, seventh  in  descent,  from  its  original  owner. 

Thomas  Benbury  married  Thamer  Howcott  in  1761, 
who  lived  only  a  few  years,  dying  in  1765,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren^   Samuel,    who    died    early,    and    Richard.     In    1769 

Thomas  Benbury  married  Betty for  his  second 

wife.  She  lived  only  a  short  while  and  left  no  children.  As 
were  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him,  he  was  a  church- 
man and  a  vestryman  of  the  Parish  of  St.  Paul's,  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Edenton  Lodge  of  Masons.  He  was  connected  by 
ties  of  kinship  and  association  with  all  the  leading  men  of  the 
State,  and  by  his  intimate  friends  was  called  "Old  Tom." 
He  was  a  zealous  and  active  member  of  all  public  affairs,  and 
as  the  people  were  gTOwing  restive  under  British  rule  and 
"Taxation  without  Representation"  was  gTowing  to  be  an 
ever-increasing  anxiety  and  cause  of  unrest  among  them,  he 
became  an  early  and  ardent  advocate  of  their  cause  and 
aligned  himself  with  them  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  and 
from  that  time  until  the  final  independence  of  the  American 
Republic  he  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  ardent  of 
patriots. 

In  1774,  August  22j  a  call  was  issued  by  the  freeholders 
of  the  Parish  for  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  courthouse  in 
Edenton,  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  first  Provincial 
Congress,  to  be  held  in  l^ew  Bern  on  the  25th  of  the  same 
month  in  defiance  of  the  royal  authority.  This  meeting  was 
well  attended,  and  resolutions  were  passed  expressing  in  no 
uncertain  terms  their  indignation  against  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain,  the  British  Parliament,  the  imposition  of 
taxes,  duties,  etc. 


136  THE    JSTOETH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

The  Boston  Port  Bill  was  also  denounced.  The  delegates 
appointed  were  Samuel  Johnston,  Thomas  Oldham,  Thomas 
Jones,  Thomas  Benbury,  Thomas  Hunter,  and  Joseph  Hewes, 
all  of  whom  attended. 

At  this  Congress  Thomas  Benbury,  Governor  Johnston, 
and  Joseph  Hewes,  were  appointed  from  this  district  to 
present  these  resolutions  to  the  General  Congress  in  Phila- 
delphia. Thomas  Benbury  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  other 
Provincial  Congresses  held  in  ISTew  Bern,  Hillsboro',  and 
Halifax.  He  was  a  member  of  the  vestry  which  wrote  and 
signed  what  was  called  the  famous  "Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence" of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Edenton,  June  19,  1Y76,  but 
which  was  afterwards  said  to  be  a  copy  of  one  prepared  by  the 
State  Congress  in  1775,  though  many  have  doubted  this.  The 
following  is  a  copy,  as  it  appears  on  the  Church  Register  in 
Edenton : 

St.  Paxil's  Parish,  1776. 

Be  it  remembered  that  the  Freeholders  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  met 
the  Sheriff  at  the  Court  house  in  Edenton,  on  Monday,  the  eighth  of 
April,  then  and  there  pursuant  to  an  Act  of  the  Assembly,  did  elect 
the  following  persons  to  serve  as  Vestrymen  for  one  year.  (Agree- 
able to  resolve  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  held  at  Halifax  on  the 
second  of  April,  and  qualified  agreeable  thereto),  Vizt,  Thomas 
Bonner,  William  Boyd,  Thomas  Benbury,  Jacob  Hunter,  John  Beas- 
ley,  William  Bennett,  William  Roberts,  Richard  Hoskins,  David 
Rice,  Aaron  Hill,  Peletiah  Walton,  William  Hinton. 

We,  the  Subscribers  professing  our  Allegiance  to  the  King,  and 
acknowledging  the  Constitutional  executive  power  of  the  Government, 
do  solemnly  profess,  testify  and  declare  that  we  do  absolutely  believe 
that  neither  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britian,  nor  any  member  or 
Constituent  Branch  thereof,  have  a  right  to  impose  Taxes  upon  these 
Colonies,  to  regulate  the  internal  Policy  thereof,  and  all  attempts  by 
Fraud  or  Force  to  establish  and  exercise  such  Claims  and  Powers, 
are  Violations  of  the  Peace  and  Security  of  the  People,  and  ought 
to  be  resisted  to  the  utmost,  and  that  the  people  of  this  province, 
singly  and  collectively,  are  bound  by  the  Acts  and  Resolutions  of  the 
Continental  and  Provincial  Congresses,  because  in  both  they  are 
freely  represented  by  persons  chosen  by  themselves,  and  we  do 
solemnly  and  sincerely  promise  and  engage  under  the  Sanction  of 
Virtue,  Honor  and  the  Sacred  Love  of  Liberty  due  our  Country,  to 
Maintain  and  support  all  and  every,  the  Acts,  Resolutions  and  Regu- 
lations,  of  the  said  Continental  and  Provincial  Congresses  to  the 


THOMAS    BENBUEY  137 

utmost  of  our  power  and  ability.     In  Testimony  whereof  we  have 
hereto  set  our  hand  this  19th  day  of  June,  1776. 

Richard  Hoskins. 

David  Rice. 

Aabon  Hill. 

Peletiah  Walton. 

William  Hinton. 

Thos.  Bonner. 

William  Boyd. 

Thomas  Benbury. 

Jacob  Hunter. 

John  Beasley. 

William  Bennett. 

William  Roberts. 

In  1778,  we  find  him  acting  with  a  friend,  Rob  Smith,  in 
the  capacity  of  agent  for  the  State,  in  the  reception  of  some 
cannon  which  had  been  ordered  from  France  by  the  General 
Government,  at  the  request  of  the  two  States,  Virginia  and 
I^orth  Carolina;  though  judging  from  the  interesting  corre- 
spondence which  follows,  Mr,  Benbury  and  Mr.  Smith  acted 
first,  and  sought  permission  of  the  Governor  afterwards. 
The  two  cannon^  now  mounted  and  placed  on  either  side  of 
the  Washington  Monument  in  the  southern  end  of  the  Capitol 
Square  in  Raleigh,  are  a  part  of  that  consigTinient.  The 
correspondence  between  Governor  Caswell,  Thomas  Benbury 
and  Rob  Smith  relative  to  the  same,  found  among  the  letters 
taken  from  the  Governor's  letter  book  and  published  in  the 
Colonial  Records,  will  prove  interesting : 

Edenton,  19th  November,  1778. 
Captain  Berritz  of  the  ship  named  the  "Heart  of  Jesus,"  arrived 
here  some  time  in  the  month  of  July  last.  On  his  arrival,  he  wrote 
a  certain  Mr.  Holton,  he  says,  indeed  we  know  he  did.  He  likewise 
wrote  to  Congress  what  he  should  do  with  the  cannon  he  had  on 
board,  say  twenty  eight  24  pounders,  to  which  he  never  received 
any  answer ;  but  about  a  month  ago,  a  gentleman  from  Virginia 
produced  an  order  for  one  half,  or  twenty  two  of  the  cannon,  for 
that  State,  and  at  the  same  time  exhibited  an  extract  of  a  Resolve 
of  Congress,  by  which  it  appears  the  contract  for  the  cannon  had 
been  applied  for  by  the  delegates  of  the  two  states,  Carolina  and 
Virginia,  and  was  granted.  The  State  of  Virginia  are  to  have 
twenty  two  of  the  cannon,  and  our  State  Twenty-three.  The  con- 
tract made  by  the  Agents  in  France  is  to  pay  150  lbs.  of  tobacco,  for 
2 


138  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

every  100  lbs  of  iron  cannon,  for  the  credit  of  tlie  State,  we  have 
thought  it  our  duty  to  receive  the  cannon.  The  Captain  proceeds 
with  the  other  two  and  twenty  that  is  ordered  to  South  Quay,  where 
the  tobacco  is  ready  for  him,  for  the  Virginia  half  or  share.  We 
wish  to  know  if  we  have  acted  right  in  what  we  have  done  (we  have 
told  your  Excellency  our  motives).  What  should  be  done  with  the 
cannon,  and  to  know  what  way  the  Captain  can  be  paid  the  tobacco. 
His  time  has  been  some  time  out,  and  he  will  lay  after  his  return 
from  South  Quay,  at  the  demurrage,  we  believe  of  50  lbs  per  day. 
We  hope  we  will  be  excused  for  the  freedom  we  have  taken,  and 
are  with  every  sentiment  of  respect  and  regard  and  esteem, 
Your  Excellency's  mo'  ob'.  and  very  humb.  srvts, 

Rob  Smith. 
Thos.  Benbury. 

In  reply  is  an  order  from  Governor  E.  Caswell  to  Robert 
Smith,  Esquire,  Kinston,  3d  of  December,  1778 : 

Sir  :  Please  to  deliver  Captain  Willis  Wilson  eight  18  pounders 
for  the  use  of  Fort  Hancock,  and  if  there  are  any  among  the  guns 
purchased  for  the  State  and  received  by  you  and  Mr.  Benbury,  any 
which  will  suit  his  ship,  please  also  deliver  them.  I  have  not  yet  been 
favored  with  the  account  of  the  weight  of  the  Guns,  or  any  of  your 
favors,  since  the  return  of  your  Express  respecting  the  cannon, 
I  am,  sir. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

R.  Caswell. 

Judge  Clark,  in  the  Colonial  Records,  says : 

The  ship  referred  to  was  the  Caswell,  Captain,  John  Easton.  She 
was  ordered  to  proceed  immediately  to  Ocracoke.  "You  are  to 
receive  from  Mr.  Robert  Smith  eight  18  pounders,  lately  imported 
there  from  France,  and  received  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Benbury  for 
the  use  of  this  State.  If  there  are  any  other  Guns  in  Mr.  Smith's 
possession  that  will  be  useful  in  your  ship,  apply  to  him  and  he  will 
deliver  them,"  etc.,  and  this  letter  from  Thomas  Benbury  and  Robert 
Smith  to  Gov.  Caswell,  in  reply,  dated  Edenton,  10th  of  December, 
1778 : 

Sir  :  We  received  yours  of  the  24th  November.  The  reason  of 
your  not  hearing  from  us  before  is  explained  in  Mr.  Smith's  letter. 
Captain  Barrets  proceeding  to  South  Quay  with  his  vessel  left  us 
no  Invoice  of  the  Cannon  left  here.  We  have  examined  the  Cannon, 
but  from  the  Swedish  marks  we  cannot  determine  the  quantity  of 
Tobacco  that  the  State  vpill  have  to  pay,  but  as  near  as  we  can 
guess,  we  have  to  pay  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  weight 
of  tobacco.     As  to  that  part  of  your  Excellency's  letter  relative  to 


THOMAS  BENBUBY  139 

purchasing  Tobacco,  we  can  only  answer  that  we  can  purchase  none 
here,  but  as  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  is  near  at  hand, 
we  doubt  not  but  they  will  be  able  to  remove  every  difficulty,  and 
prevent  the  demurrage,  if  any,  from  being  considerable  against  this 
State.  The  cannon  shall  be  delivered  as  your  Excellency  ordered, 
and  your  commands  in  every  other  respect  concerning  them  shall  be 
faithfully  obeyed. 

We  are  with  respect,  sir, 

Your  Mo.  ob.  humbl  Srvts., 

Thos.  Benbuby. 

Rob.  Smith. 

Thomas  Benbury  was  a  member  of  all  the  Provincial  Con- 
gresses and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from 
1778  to  1782.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Edenton  District 
Committee  of  Safety,  Major  of  State  Troops,  and  Paymaster 
of  the  Fifth  Regiment  and  Commissary  General.  In  1779 
he  was  made  Brigadier-General,  and  it  is  said  that  he  took 
part  in  the  Battle  of  Great  Bridge.  These  were  very  trying 
times  to  the  colonists,  and  the  following  letters  also  from  the 
Colonial  Records,  reflect  in  part,  at  least,  a  portion  of  their 
anxieties,  and  are  therefore  worthy  of  being  reproduced. 

The  first  is  from  Colonel  Alexander  Martin  and  Thomas 
Benbury  to  Governor  !N'ash : 

Hillsborough,  August  23rd,  1780. 
To  his  Excellency  Abneb  Nash,  Esquire,  Captain  General,  Governor, 
etc.,  etc. 

Sir:  In  answer  to  your  Excellency's  message  of  this  Day.  We, 
the  members  Convened,  beg  leave  to  hint  to  your  Excellency  as  our 
private  Sentiments  the  following  Important  Objects  First,  That  we 
advise  your  Excellency  to  call  out  from  such  Districts  and  Counties 
such  a  Body  of  the  Militia,  not  exceeding  one  half  to  be  proportioned 
as  you  think  necessary,  and  that  they  march  immediately,  by  the 
shortest  and  most  convenient  route  to  join  Gen'l  Caswell,  or  to  any 
other  post  you  shall  please  to  appoint,  their  serving  three  months,  to 
commence  from  their  rendezvous  at  Headquarters,  or  such  post  as 
may  be  Directed,  unless  sooner  disbanded,  shall  be  recommended  to 
the  General  Assembly  as  a  Tour  of  Duty. 

We  further  advise  your  Excellency  to  order  the  Commanding 
Officers  of  the  several  Counties,  out  of  which  you  may  order  the 
Militia,  to  appoint  Contractors  or  Commissioners  to  provide  provi- 
sions, spirits,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  use  of  the  Militia  to  be 
■called  into  Service,  and  the  members  here  present  engage  their  Faith 


140  THE  NORTH  CAROLIT^A  BOOKLET 

and  Honor,  to  use  their  Influence  in  the  General  Assembly  that  an 
adequate,  full  and  ample  satisfaction  be  made  for  the  same,  and  that 
Col.  Long  be  directed  to  immediately  purchase,  or  in  case  of  refusal, 
to  impress  all  the  Iron  pots  and  Kettles  now  at  Wilcox's  Iron  Works 
and  forward  them  immediately  to  Camp. 

That  your  Excellency  be  requested  to  issue  a  Proclamation  requir- 
ing all  Deserters  and  Refugees  belonging  to  this  State,  to  repair  to 
Headquarters,  and  that  the  Commanding  Officers  of  the  respective 
Counties,  exert  themselves  in  carrying  the  purport  of  such  proclama- 
tion into  Effect,  in  apprehending  and  forwarding  such  persons  imme- 
diately to  Headquarters. 

We  shall  continue  a  few  days  at  this  place,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  an  Assembly,  in  which  Time  we  will  gladly  and  cheerfully 
advise  your  Excellency,  in  any  matter  that  may  tend  to  the  Defense 
of  the  State. 

In  the  present  Critical  Conjunction,  we  submit  to  your  Excellency's 
prudence,  all  other  matters  respecting  the  Defense  of  this  State.  By 
order  and  in  behalf  of  the  members  present, 

Alex  Maetin. 
Thomas  Benbuby. 

Again  we  find  in  the  Colonial  Records^  this  correspondence 
from  Thomas  Benbury  to  Governor  Nash,  in  which  he  signs 
himself  in  his  official  capacity  as  Brigadier-General: 

Edenton,  22nd  October,  1780. 
To  His  Excellency,  Abnek  Nash, 

New  Bern,  N.  C. 

Sir  :  I  have  at  this  moment  received  information  that  the  Enemy 
are  landing  forces  at  Kemps  Landing  in  Virginia.  I  have  in  conse- 
quence of  this  information  sent  an  Express  in  order  to  learn  their 
movements.  I  have  also  dispatched  letters  to  the  different  Colos.  in 
my  district,  requiring  them  to  have  their  regiments  equipped  in  the 
best  manner  they  can,  and  to  hold  themselves  to  march  on  the  shortest 
notice.  I  have  likewise  written  to  Col.  Long  for  one  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  if  to  be  spared,  we  not  having  one  Hundred  good  Muskets 
in  the  district.  I  hope  all  this  will  meet  your  Excellency's  approba- 
tion and  that  you  will  direct  how  I  am  further  to  proceed.  My 
information  says  there  are  sixty  Sail  of  vessels,  but  the  number  of 
troops  not  known. 

I  am  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  last  Monday,  two  large 
Gallies,  with  sliding  Gunter  mast,  as  was  judged,  about  sixty  men  in 
each,  came  over  Roanoke  Bar,  and  went  through  the  marshes.  On 
receiving  this  information,  the  town  of  Edenton  sent  out  a  Boat  to 
reconnoitre,  which  is  not  returned.  The  town  have  been  under  an 
alarm  ever  since  this  information  came  up.     We  this  moment  learn 


THOMAS    BENBUKT  141 

that  fireing  was  heard  last  night,  the  occasion  of  which  we  know  not, 
but  Conjecture  it  to  be  some  of  the  homeward  bound  vessels,  who 
have  fallen   in   with  these   Gallies.     I   shall   keep   your   Excellency 
informed  from  time  to  time  of  what  happens  in  this  quarter. 
I  have  the  Honor  to  be.  Sir, 

Your  most  obedt  and  very  humble  Servt., 

Thos.  Benbury, — B.  G.  P.  I. 

Again  in  a  few  days  this  letter  follows : 

Edenton,  30th  October,  1780. 
To  Governor  Abner  Nash, 

Sib  :  I  have  this  moment  by  the  return  of  one  of  my  Expresses 
received  a  Letter  from  Colo.  Senf,  a  copy  of  which  I  take  the  liberty 
to  inclose.  You  will  see  by  that  letter  we  are  in  a  fair  way  to  be 
overrun  by  the  Enemy.  This  morning  I  was  informed  by  express 
that  three  hundred  last  evening  of  the  Enemy  had  marched  for 
South  Quay  and  that  one  thousand  were  under  march  for  this  place 
from  Suffolk.  We  have  made  a  stand  at  Norfleet's  Mill,  about  thirty 
five  miles  from  this  place,  with  the  few  Militia  that  will  turn  out,  but 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  I  never  saw,  or  expected  to  see  men  so  backward, 
they  seem  ready  made  slaves.  The  town  turn  out  pretty  well,  but 
they  are  worn  out,  they  expect  all  to  be  ruined.  I  left  camp  this 
morning,  and  am  this  moment  to  set  out  on  my  return.  For  God's 
sake,  for  the  sake  of  that  Liberty  we  are  contending  for,  give  us 
every  aid  you  can. 

I  have  the  Honour  to  be, 

Your  Excellency's  Most  Obedt  Servt., 

Thomas  Benbxjky,  B.  G. 

With  the  close  of  his  services  as  Representative  to  the 
General  Assembly  in  1782,  General  Benbury  was  succeeded 
in  1783  by  his  son  Richard,  while  he  took  a  much  needed 
rest  and  enjoyed  the  quietude  of  his  home  for  a  few  years, 
until  1790,  when  he  was  appointed  Collector  and  Inspector  of 
the  Port  of  Edenton  by  General  George  Washington,  who  was 
then  President.  This  was  at  that  time  a  position  of  great  im- 
portance, though  today  it  hardly  seems  possible.  This  posi- 
tion he  held  until  his  death  February  5,  1793,  in  the  fifty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age,  leaving  one  child,  his  son  Richard. 
He  left  a  large  estate  and  was  the  owner  of  a  number  of 
slaves,  as  we  learn  from  the  first  census  of  the  Government, 
taken  in  1790,  in  which  he  is  registered  from  the  Edenton 


142  THE  NOETH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

District  as  tlie  head  of  a  family  and  the  owner  of  eighty-eight 
slaves.  His  burial  place  is  not  known,  but  is  supposed  to  be  at 
"Banbury  Hall"  where  a  portion  of  the  old  graveyard  is  still 
preserved. 

Several  of  these  commissions,  signed  by  Washington,  and 
countersigned  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  also  an  autograph  letter 
from  Alexander  Hamilton,  informing  him  of  the  appoint- 
ment, are  still  preserved  by  the  family. 

With  the  story  of  patriots  such  as  Thomas  Benbury — and 
there  were  many  others — it  would  be  disloyalty  if  we  of  later 
generations  did  not  give  to  I^orth  Carolina  "Our  hearts' 
utmost  devotion,"  as  Judge  Gaston  wrote  in  his  beautiful 
hymn  to  our  State,  and  unite  with  him  in  saying: 

Carolina  !    Carolina  !     Heaven's  blessings  attend  her  ; 
While  we  live,  we  vpill  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her. 

Bibliography — Family  Bibles,  Wills,  Letters  and  Traditions ;  Church 
Register  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Edenton ;  Court  Records ;  Colonial 
Records ;  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina ;  Hathavpay's  Histori- 
cal and  Genealogical  Register ;  Marshall  Delancey  Hayvrood ;  Church 
History  of  North  Carolina ;  Government  Census  of  1790. 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HENKY    WIRZ  143 

The  Trial  of  Henry  Wirz 

By  Sabah  W.  Ashe 

[Recently  the  fact  that  Henry  Wirz  was  tried  by  a  court-martial — 
or  rather  by  a  commission  of  military  officers — and  put  to  death  for 
alleged  cruelties  to  Federal  prisoners  confined  at  Andersonville,  has 
been  given  prominence,  and  he  has  been  held  up  as  one  who  perpe- 
trated outrages  against  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare  and  in  disre- 
gard of  the  dictates  of  humanity.  Because  of  the  revival  of  that 
slander  on  him  that  likewise  involves  the  fair  name  of  the  Confed- 
erate Government  and  of  the  people  of  the  South,  we  devote  space 
at  this  time  to  a  true  statement  of  the  matters  connected  with  his 
trial. — Editor.] 

In  the  fall  of  1865,  several  months  after  the  overthrow  of 
the  Confederacy,  there  took  place  in  Washington  City  two 
judicial  murders,  which  will  ever  stain  the  annals  of  the 
conquering  states — that  of  Mrs.  Surratt,  hung  for  complicity 
in  the  assassination  of  Lincoln,  and  that  of  Henry  Wirz — a 
physician  and  man  of  high  character — who,  six  months  after 
the  war  was  ended,  was  tried  by  court-martial,  convicted  and 
hanged  on  the  charge  of  having  conspired  with  Jefferson 
Davis  and  other  Confederate  leaders  to  torture  and  murder 
prisoners  under  his  care. 

The  innocence  of  Mrs.  Surratt  has  been  fully  shown  in  the 
account  of  her  trial  written  by  her  lawyer,  the  Hon.  Reverdy 
Johnson  of  Maryland;  but  the  facts  in  regard  to  Wirz  are 
not  generally  known. 

When  in  the  shadow  of  death  Captain  Wirz  was  offered 
life  if  he  would  implicate  Jefferson  Davis  in  these  alleged 
atrocities.  He  preferred  death  to  a  life  won  by  such  means, 
and  died  pleading  that  his  name  be  rescued  from  infamy. 

The  highest  officers  of  the  Confederacy  were  indicted  with 
him;  and  through  them,  the  Southern  Confederacy,  As  a 
sacred  duty  to  itself,  therefore,  the  South  should  bear  always 
in  mind  the  truth  concerning  the  trial  and  death  of  the  mar- 
tyred Wirz — a  stranger  in  our  land — ^who  threw  in  his  lot 
with  us,  served  the  Confederacy  faithfully,  and  paid  for  his 
fidelity  with  his  life. 


144  THE  NOBTH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

That  there  should  have  been  any  suffering  among  prisoners 
on  either  side  during  the  war  must  ever  be  deplored;  that 
there  should  have  been  any  prisoners  to  suffer  is  entirely  due 
to  the  war  policy  of  the  ISTorth. 

The  conduct  of  the  Confederate  Government  towards  its 
prisoners  is  above  reproach  and  was  ordered  by  the  truest 
feelings  of  humanity.  Its  policy  was  fixed  by  law.  By  act 
of  Congress  passed  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  prisoners  of  war  should  have  the  same  rations,  in 
quality  and  quantity,  as  Confederate  soldiers  in  the  field. 
By  an  act  passed  afterwards,  all  hospitals  for  sick  and 
wounded  prisoners  were  put  on  the  same  footing  with  hos- 
pitals for  sick  and  wounded  Confederates.  This  policy  was 
never  changed.  Whatever  food  or  fare  the  Confederate 
soldiers  had,  whether  good  or  bad,  full  or  short,  the  Federal 
prisoners  shared  equally  with  them. 

Although  deprived  of  medicines  through  the  policy  of  the 
Federal  Government,  and  with  but  a  scant  supply  of  provi- 
sions and  clothing,  her  ports  blockaded  and  her  resources 
exhausted,  the  prison  records  of  the  South  were  better  than 
those  of  the  ]^orth.  The  death  rate  in  Southern  prisons  was 
less  than  nine  per  cent ;  that  in  Northern  prisons  was  twelve 
per  cent.  And,  great  as  was  the  mortality  at  Andersonville, 
it  was  four  per  cent  less  than  at  the  Federal  prison  of  Rock 
Island,  Illinois,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  JSTorthern 
authorities  had  abundant  means  of  alleviating  the  sufferings 
of  their  unfortunate  prisoners.  From  the  first  the  South 
desired  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  The  Federal  Govern- 
ment, on  the  other  hand,  affected  to  consider  the  secession 
a  rebellion,  upholders  of  the  Confederacy  as  rebels  and  trai- 
tors, her  men-of-war  piratical  vessels,  and  her  sailors  pirates, 
and,  as  such,  the  latter,  when  captured,  were  loaded  with 
irons  and  condemned  to  bo  hanged.  Only  by  the  protests  of 
European  governments  and  threats  of  retaliation  by  the  Con- 
federate Government  was  it  deterred  from  its  proposed  course. 

While  in  1862  a  cartel  was  arranged,  by  which  all  pris- 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HENET    WIEZ  145 

oners  were  to  be  exchanged  man  for  man,  and  the  excess  on 
either  side  paroled^  by  which  all  prisoners  would  have  been 
released — after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  when  the  North 
held  the  majority  of  prisoners,  this  was  discontinued.  From 
this  time  it  became  the  fixed  policy  of  the  Federal  authorities 
to  make  no  exchanges. 

"If  we  begin  a  system  of  exchange,"  wrote  General  Grant, 
"which  liberates  all  prisoners  taken,  we  will  have  to  fight  on 
until  the  whole  South  is  exterminated." 

In  the  spring  of  1864  the  Confederate  Government  found 
itself,  in  consequence  of  this  policy  of  nonexchange,  over- 
burdened with  prisoners^,  and  established  a  large  camp  for 
them  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  a  spot  selected  on  account 
of  the  mildness  of  climate,  abundance  of  water,  and  the 
absence  of  malarial  conditions. 

Every  provision  possible  was  made  for  the  health  of  the 
inmates.  The  law  requiring  prisoners  and  g-uards  in  all 
southern  prisons  to  fare  in  food  alike  was  rigidly  observed, 
the  rations  issued  daily  being  the  same  in  quantity  and 
quality  as  those  issued  to  our  soldiers  in  the  field.  They  con- 
sisted principally  of  com  meal  and  beef  or  bacon,  the  only 
food  obtainable  at  the  South  at  that  time.  This  food,  even 
at  best,  was  unpalatable  to  men  who  had  never  used  corn 
meal  in  any  form  before,  and  diarrhea,  the  usual  result  of  its 
use  by  those  unaccustomed  to  it,  was  produced.  This  disease, 
hard  to  arrest  at  best,  became  unmanageable  for  want  of 
proper  remedies,  and  the  sufferers  fell  easy  victims  to  more 
serious  troubles — camp  gangrene  and  scurvy.  These  dis- 
eases attacked  guards  and  prisoners  alike — the  officers,  Wirz, 
Winder,  Colonel  Gibbs,  and  Dr.  Stephenson,  all  having  gan- 
grene. To  cope  with  these  diseases  medicines  were  neces- 
sary, and  the  Union  Government  had  made  medicines  contra- 
band of  war.  Medical  stores,  even  when  the  private  property 
of  physicians,  were  destroyed  in  conquered  sections,  and  per- 
sons attempting  to  send  medicines  South  were  arrested  and 
cast  into  prison,  and  we  pleaded  in  vain  to  be  permitted  to 
buy  them  with  gold  or  cotton. 


146  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

All  that  humanity  could  suggest  was  done.  Wheat,  sugar, 
coffee,  and  other  luxuries,  when  obtainable,  were  provided  for 
the  use  of  the  sick,  and  well  prisoners  were  billeted  on  the 
families  near  Andersonville,  where  they  would  be  in  less 
danger  of  contagion. 

The  Confederate  War  Department  took  steps  for  a 
thorough  inspection  of  the  camp.  All  well  prisoners  were 
removed  to  other  places  and  by  September  only  the  sick  were 
left  at  Andersonville.  By  this  time  the  virulence  of  the 
diseases  had  begun  to  abate,  the  death  rate  having  been  great- 
est during  August. 

In  charge  of  this  hospital  was  Dr.  R.  R.  Stephenson,  sur- 
geon in  chief,  with  a  staff  of  thirty  assistants.  Colonel  Gibbs 
was  commandant  of  the  post,  and  Capt.  Henry  Wirz  had 
charge  of  the  prison  proper. 

Henry  Wirz,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  Andersonville 
prison,  was  a  physician  by  profession,  and  was  born  in 
Zurich,  Switzerland^  in  1822.  He  emigrated  to  America 
in  1849,  and  first  settled  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  removing 
subsequently  to  Louisiana,  where  he  practiced  his  profession 
until  the  beginning  of  the  war  between  the  States.  When 
the  war  broke  out  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  enlist  in  the 
Southern  cause.  He  served  as  a  private  in  the  meniorable 
battle  of  Manassas,  where  he  received  a  wound  in  the  arm, 
injuring  the  bone,  from  which  he  suffered  up  to  the  day  of 
his  execution.  After  leaving  the  hospital  in  Richmond  he 
was  placed  as  a  clerk  in  Libby  Prison.  Afterwards  he  was 
commissioned  as  captain  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  was 
appointed  deputy  marshal,  and  in  1862  he  visited  all  the 
prisons  in  the  South  as  inspecting  officer. 

The  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  at  Richmond  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was  appointed  in  the  latter  part 
of  1863  by  President  Davis  to  carry  secret  dispatches  to  the 
Confederate  Commissioners — Mr.  Mason  in  England  and 
Mr.  Slidell  in  France — and  to  all  the  financial  agents  of  the 
Confederate   Grovernment   in    Europe.     On   his    return,    in 


THE    TRIAL,    OF    HENRY    WIRZ  147 

January,  1864,  he  was  assigned  to  duty  under  Brig.-Gen. 
John  H.  Winder,  who,  on  April  4,  1864,  placed  him  as  super- 
intendent of  the  Confederate  States  military  prison  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Georgia,  where  he  was  still  on  duty  at  the  close  of 
the  war. 

A  man  of  tried  integrity  and  much  experience  in  prison 
work,  he  was  well  fitted  for  a  position  of  such  responsibility. 
Indeed,  he  was  appointed  to  that  post  on  account  of  the  effi- 
ciency shown  while  engaged  in  like  work  at  Richmond. 

He  had  been  from  the  opening  of  the  war  a  loyal  subject  to 
the  land  of  his  adoption,  and  had  from  the  first  been  called 
to  positions  of  trust  and  high  honor,  requiring  delicacy  in 
handling,  to  which  he  was  particularly  adapted  by  reason  of 
his  foreign  birth,  high  character  and  other  qualifications,  and 
in  all  of  these  he  had  served  satisfactorily. 

In  his  private  life  Captain  Wirz  is  described  as  being  an 
affectionate  husband  and  father,  and  the  kindest  of  men,  one 
careful  of  the  comforts  of  his  servants  and  of  the  animals 
about  him,  and  so  solicitous  about  the  welfare  of  the  prisoners 
in  his  charge  that  he  often  deprived  his  children  of  their 
daily  cup  of  milk — one  of  their  few  luxuries — for  the  benefit 
of  the  sick  in  the  hospital. 

Colonel  Hammond,  one  of  the  prison  inspectors  sent  to 
Andersonville,  made  a  special  study  of  its  commandant,  Cap- 
tain Wirz,  and  leaves  us  this  description  of  him : 

Major  Wirz  was  at  this  time  about  forty  years  of  age,  and 
was  a  trained  soldier ;  a  little  below  medium  height,  slight  of  figure 
and  lean  almost  to  emaciation,  with  dark  hair  and  brown  eyes ; 
direct  in  manner  and  expression,  and  active  and  alert  in  movement. 
He  impressed  me  as  one  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  details  of  military 
administration  and  control.  His  right  arm  had  been  mutilated  near 
the  wrist,  caused  by  a  fragment  of  a  shell  in  an  engagement  near 
Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  incapacitating  him  for  active  field  service. 
He  was  at  my  side  during  my  visits  to  the  sick  and  dying  in  the 
hospital  and  while  passing  among  the  scarcely  less  wretched  inmates 
of  the  stockade.  At  night  he  went  over  the  prison  records  with  me, 
explaining  minutely  the  needs  and  deficiencies  of  each  department, 
and  when  I  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  Andersonville  he  implored 


148  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

me,  with  tears  streaming  from  his  eyes,  to  urge  upon  the  authorities 
at  Richmond  the  absolute  necessity  for  more  and  better  food  for  the 
prisoners,  for  medicines,  tents  and  lumber,  and  recommended  that  I 
should  advise  that  they  should  send  as  many  of  the  prisoners  as 
could  be  furnished  with  transportation  to  Richmond  or  Savannah, 
and  there  turn  them  over  unconditionally  to  the  Federal  authorities. 

Colonel  Hammond  mentioned  how  Wirz  passed,  unarmed 
and  unattended,  witli  him  through  every  part  of  the  stockade, 
without  receiving  any  unkind  expression  or  threatening  ges- 
ture; and,  when  questioned  whether  he  had  no  fears  for  his 
personal  safety,  he  replied :  ''They  know  I  am  doing  my 
utmost  for  them." 

As  the  war  proceeded  and  the  death  struggle  of  the  Con- 
federacy grew  more  tense,  the  diiiiculty  of  holding  and  caring 
for  the  prisoners  at  Andersonville  became,  of  course,  much 
greater.  Again  and  again  Commissioner  Ould  proposed  that 
each  government  should  send  its  own  surgeons  to  care  for 
its  own  men,  and  that  these  surgeons  should  distribute  such 
money,  food  and  clothing  as  might  be  provided  for  them. 
'No  notice  was  taken  of  these  propositions. 

On  the  appearance  of  disease  in  Andersonville  Commis- 
sioner Ould  was  directed  again  to  urge  the  exchange  of  these 
prisoners,  and  to  offer  to  buy  medicines  from  the  Federal 
authorities  exclusively  for  their  use,  making  offer  to  pay 
cotton,  gold  or  tobacco  for  them,  and  even  two  or  three  times 
the  prices  for  them,  if  desired,  agreeing  also  that  these  might 
be  brought  into  the  prisons  by  the  United  States  surgeons 
themselves  and  distributed  by  them.  No  method  was  left 
untried  to  induce  the  Federals  to  accede  to  an  exchange. 
Commissioners  were  sent;  Lee  and  Vice  President  Stephens 
interceded.  By  advice  of  the  prison  officials  the  prisoners 
themselves  memorialized  the  Federal  Government,  praying 
to  be  released — all  without  effect. 

In  the  rheantime  some  of  the  prisoners  at  Andersonville 
had  been  sent  to  Washington  to  plead  their  own  cause.  It 
was  of  no  avail.  President  Lincoln  refused  to  see  them,  and 
they  were  made  to  understand  that  the  interest  of  the  Gov- 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HENRY    WIRZ  149 

ernment  required  that  they  should  return  to  prison  and  re- 
main there. 

Offer  was  now  made  to  release  all  these  prisoners  without 
any  equivalent  if  the  Federal  authorities  would  receive  them. 
In  August  the  whole  body  of  men,  6,000  in  number,  at 
Andersonville  was  offered  without  any  equivalent,  and  they 
were  delivered  to  the  Federal  commander  in  Florida,  who 
declined  to  receive  them,  and  so  they  had  to  be  brought  back 
to  their  prison  camp. 

To  turn  the  attention  of  the  northern  people  from  this  war 
policy  the  accusation  of  deliberate  cruelty  was  brought  against 
the  South.  At  the  end  of  the  war,  therefore,  feeling  against 
the  South  was  very  bitter,  and  to  satisfy  this  demand  for 
vengeance  a  victim  was  needed. 

In  direct  violation  of  the  terms  of  Johnston's  surrender, 
Captain  Wirz,  a  paroled  Confederate  officer,  who,  assured 
of  safety,  lay  at  home  sick  and  suffering  from  an  unhealed 
wound,  was  arrested,  separated  from  his  wife  and  children, 
whom  he  never  saw  again,  and  hurried  to  Washington  City, 
where  he  was  confined  in  the  Old  Capitol  Prison*. 

After  several  months  spent  in  arranging  the  court-martial 
and  finding  witnesses.  Captain  Wirz  was  arraigned  on  two 
charges:  conspiracy  and  murder.  Indicted  with  him  as  co- 
conspirators, in  a  plot  to  torture  and  murder  prisoners  of 
war,  were  Robert  E.  Lee,  Jefferson  Davis,  Seddon  and  others, 
all  of  whose  names,  except  that  of  Lee,  appear  on  the  findings 
of  the  court. 

Arrangements  having  been  completed,  on  August  23d  the 
following  order  was  issued : 

Special  Oeder  No.  453. 

Wab  Department, 
Adjutant-General's  Office, 
Washington,  August  23,  1865. 
A  special  military  commission  is  hereby  appointed,  to  meet  in  this 
city  at  11  o'clock  a.m.,  on  the  23d  day  of  August,  1865,  or  as  soon 
thereafter  as  practicable,  for  the  trial  of  Henry  Wirz  and  such  other 
prisoners  as  may  be  brought  before  it. 


150  THE    NORTH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

DETAIL   FOR    COMMISSION". 

Maj.-Gen.  L.  Wallace,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 
Brevet  Maj.-Gen.  G.  Mott,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Brevet  Brig.-Gen.  John  T.  Ballier,  Colonel  Ninety-eighth  Volunteers. 
Brig.-Gen.  Francis  Fessenden,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 
Brevet  Brig.-Gen.  G.  W.  Geary,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 
Brevet  Gen.  L.  Thomas,  Adjutant-General  U.  S.  A. 
Brig.-Gen.  E.  S.  Bragg,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Brevet  Col.  T.  Allcock,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fourth  New  York  Volun- 
teers. 

Lieut.-Col.  I.  H.  Stibbs,  Twelfth  Iowa  Volunteers. 
The  commission  will  sit  without  regard  to  hours. 

By  Order  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Before  the  military  cominissioii  thus  convened  in  violation 
of  the  Constitution^  which  requires  that  every  man  held  for  a 
capital  offense  be  tried  before  a  jury  and  after  presentment 
by  a  grand  jury^  Henry  Wirz  was  tried  on  the  charge  as 
specified  in  the  first  Special  Order,  No.  524,  of  having  con- 
spired with  Eobert  E.  Lee,  Jefferson  Davis,  James  A.  Sed- 
don,  Howell  Cobb,  John  H.  Winder  and  others,  to  torture, 
injure  and  murder  the  Federal  prisoners  held  by  the  Con- 
federates at  Andersonville,  Georgia.  He  was  accused,  under 
thirteen  separate  specifications^  of  shooting  the  prisoners, 
punishing  them  cruelly  in  irons  and  stocks,  of  poisoning  them 
with  impure  vaccine  matter,  of  pursuing  them  with  blood- 
hounds, of  using  a  dead  line^  of  furnishing  insufficient  food 
and  impure  water,  and  of  murdering,  in  cold  blood  and  with 
his  own  hand^  thirteen  of  these  helpless  men. 

In  answer  to  these  charges  Wirz  put  in  pleas  to  the  effect 
that  he  had  been  paroled  by  General  Wilson ;  that  he  denied 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  to  try  him ;  that,  war  being  over 
and  civil  law  restored,  there  was  no  military  law  under  which 
he  could  be  tried.  He  moved  to  quash  the  charges  for  vague- 
ness as  to  time,  place  and  manner  of  offense ;  that  he  had  been 
put  on  trial  on  August  21st^  and  that  the  court  had  been  ad- 
journed without  his  agency  or  consent,  and  that  he  should  not 
be  arraigned  as  before;  and,  finally,  he  claimed  discharge, 
because,  as  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  Army,  he  was  en- 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HENEY    WIRZ  151' 

titled  to  the  terms  agreed  to  between  Generals  Sherman  and 
Johnston  upon  the  surrender  of  the  latter. 

All  these  pleas  being  overruled  except  the  second,  the 
prisoner  pleaded  not  guilty,  and  the  trial  proceeded  until 
]^ovember  4,  1865,  when,  Wirz  having  been  found  guilty  on 
all  the  specifications  but  three,  the  following  order  was  issued : 

General  Court-Martial — Order  No.   607. 

War   Department, 
Adjutant-General's  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  6,  1865. 

Before  a  military  commission  which  convened  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
August  23,  1865,  pursuant  to  paragraph  3,  Special  Order  No.  453, 
dated  August  23,  1865,  and  paragraph  13,  Special  Order  No.  524, 
August  22,  1865,  War  Department,  Adjutant-General's  Office,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  of  which  Maj.-Gen.  Lewis  Wallace,  U.  S.  Volunteers, 
is  president,  was  arraigned  and  tried  Henry  Wirz. 

Finding. — The  commission,  after  having  maturely  considered  the 
evidence  adduced,  find  the  accused  guilty,  as  follows : 

Of  specification  to  charge  1,  guilty,  after  amending  said  specifica- 
tion as  follows :  In  this,  that  the  said  Henry  Wirz  did  combine,  con- 
federate and  conspire  with  them,  the  said  Jefferson  Davis,  James  A. 
Seddon,  Howell  Cobb,  John  H.  Winder,  Richard  B.  Winder,  Isaiah  H. 

White,  W.  S.  Winder,  S.  Reed,  R.  R.  Stephenson,  S.  P.  Moore, 

Keer  (late  hospital  steward  at  Andersonville ) ,  James  Duncan,  Wesley 
W.  Turner,  Benjamin  Harris,  and  others  whose  names  are  unknown, 
maliciously  and  traitorously  and  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  to 
impair  and  injure  the  health  and  to  destroy  the  lives  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  Federal  prisoners,  to  wit,  45,000  soldiers,  etc. 

In  like  manner  the  court-martial  found  Wirz  guilty  on  all 
the  principal  specifications  on  which  he  was  tried,  two-thirds 
of  the  court  concurring. 

As  the  result  of  this  trial  Henry  Wirz  was,  on  ISTovember  6, 
1865,  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  and  four  days  later,  on  Friday, 
I^ovember  10th,  the  sentence  was  carried  into  effect. 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  in  both  the  charges  and  specifica- 
tions and  in  the  finding  of  this  court,  not  Captain  Wirz  alone, 
but  many  of  the  most  prominent  officials  of  the  Confederacy 
were  included.     Their  fair  name  stands  or  falls  with  his. 

Consider  the  language  of  Chipman,  Judge  Advocate,  in 
summing  up: 


152  THE  NOKTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

"Whilst  the  evidence  adduced  convicts  Wirz  of  contributing  directly 
to  the  death  of  over  ten  thousand  Union  soldiers,  and,  with  his  own 
hand  and  by  his  direct  order,  committing  thirteen  individual  mur- 
ders, the  evidence  also  presents  the  horrible  fact  that  he  vpas  but  an 
instrument  in  the  hand  of  Jefferson  Davis,  James  A.  Seddon  and 
other  prominent  rebels,  and,  while  Wirz  suffered  deservedly,  there 
are  those  yet  unpunished  more  richly  deserving  an  ignominious 
death." 

JSToiie  of  tlie  otliers  was  ever  brouglit  to  trial,  though  all 
could  easily  have  been  produced. 

The  court  having  been  convened  to  convict,  the  ordinary 
forms  of  justice  were  dispensed  with.  All  evidence  against 
the  defendant  was  received  and  that  in  his  favor  excluded. 
The  defendant's  counsel  was  denied  access  to  records  open 
to  the  counsel  for  the  prosecution.  Witnesses  were  intimi- 
dated, others  forbidden  to  testify,  and  at  the  outset  of  the 
trial  an  important  witness  for  the  prisoner  was  arrested  and 
sent  to  jail. 

Men  of  high  social  standing  froro.  Georgia  and  other 
Southern  States  were  subpoenaed  by  Wirz's  counsel  and  went 
to  Washington,  ready  and  eager  to  testify  to  his  character 
and  humane  conduct  towards  the  Union  prisoners,  but  were 
not  allowed  to  do  so. 

The  Confederate  Commissioner  of  Exchange,  General 
Ould,  and  the  Federal  Commissioner,  General  Mulford,  were 
prepared  to  give  evidence  of  the  earnest  desire  of  the  South' 
ern  authorities  for  exchange  of  prisoners,  but  were  not  called 
upon. 

On  the  trial  the  reports  of  Drs.  White  and  Stephenson  were 
suppressed,  and  garbled  extracts  from  those  of  Dr.  Jones  and 
of  others  ^y^ere  used.  The  reports  of  Imboden  and  Ham- 
mond were^  taken  from  them  and  they  were  not  permitted  to 
testify. 

As  part  of  the  defense  it  was  intended  to  show  the  brutal 
treatment  of  prisoners  in  northern  prisons,  and  that  sys- 
tematic cruelty  was  practiced  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  them 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.     The  names  of  witnesses  by 


THE    TRIAL    OF    HENRY    WIRZ  153 

whom  it  was  intended  to  prove  these  things  were  handed  to 
Mr.  Baker,  assistant  counsel  to  Judge  Advocate  Chipman. 
ISTone  of  these  witnesses  appeared;  the  subpoenas  for  them 
were  never  issued,  having  been  suppressed  by  the  Judge 
Advocate  on  the  gTonud  that  "it  was  not  proper  that  such 
testimony  should  see  the  light." 

Chipman  afterwards  admitted  that  he  refused  to  have  sub- 
poenas issued  for  some  of  the  "rebel  functionaries  whose  testi- 
mony was  considered  important  to  the  defense."  Among  the 
men  whose  testimony  was  thus  rejected  was  General  Lee, 
whose  simple  word  would  have  gone  far  to  prove  to  the  world 
the  truth. 

Still  many  of  the  prisoners  desired  to  do  him  justice  and 
would  gladly  have  testified  in  his  favor  if  permitted.  A 
letter  from  one  of  these  to  the  New  York  News,  fully  exoner- 
ating Wirz,  may  well  stand  as  a  type  of  evidence  refused. 

Of  all  the  witnesses  only  fifteen  could  be  brought  to  swear 
that  Wirz  was  ever  guilty  of  murder.  It  was  proven  that 
all  of  those  swore  falsely,  some  for  money,  some  from  malice, 
some  from  love  of  notoriety. 

Of  those  men  alleged  to  have  been  murdered,  the  names 
of  very  few  were  given,  and  not  one  man  could  be  identified. 
Yet  such  testimony  was  received.  Some  swore  to  acts  com- 
mitted by  Major  Wirz  at  Andersonville  when  he  was  actually 
absent  in  Augusta  on  sick  leave. 

The  chief  witness,  the  man  whose  testimony  was  most 
relied  on,  a  miserable,  perjured  wretch,  received  a  Govern- 
ment appointment  at  the  beginning  of  the  trial  in  return  for 
his  evidence  to  come.  He  claimed  to  be  a  Frenchman,  a 
kinsman  of  Lafayette.  He  proved  to  be  a  Gei^'^an  deserter 
from  a  Federal  regiment  and  probably  never  Wi^s  at  Ander- 
sonville at  all.  To  such  testimony  did  the  unfortunate  Wirz 
owe  his  death. 

No  crime  was  too  horrible  to  be  imputed  to  him ;  and  the 
pictorial  papers  were  ablaze  with  illustrations  of  his  imagined 
atrocities.  The  South,  impotent  even  to  protest,  looked  on 
3 


154  THE  NOKTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

in  horror,  while  Wirz,  conscious  of  having  done  only  his 
duty  as  a  humane  officer  and  Christian  gentleman,  could  find 
no  words  to  express  his  amazement. 

In  Washington  none  dared  to  speak  in  his  favor.  His 
accusers  were  "patriots,"  his  friends  "traitors."  So  odious 
did  those  bent  on  his  destruction  make  him  that  the  consul- 
general  from  Switzerland  refused  to  receive  the  money  some 
offered  for  his  aid,  and  the  unhappy  man  was  forced  to  ask 
assistance  to  meet  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  trial  from  the 
NeW'  York  News.  His  lawyers  at  last  resigned  the  case  in 
despair  of  aiding  him  and  unwilling  to  bear  longer  the  odium 
attached  to  their  position;  and  only  one,  the  noble-hearted 
Louis  Schade,  remained  faithful  to  him.  He  stood  by  him 
to  the  last,  without  expectation  of  reward  or  hope  of  saving 
him ;  and,  two  years  after  Wirz's  death,  when  he  thought  the 
public  mind  might  be  calm  enough  to  receive  it,  he  published 
a  letter,  giving  the  most  trustworthy  account  of  the  trial  now 
in  existence. 

Captain  Wirz^  the  man  so  foully  calumniated,  was  in  no 
conceivable  manner  responsible  for  the  condition  of  things  at 
Andersonville.  A  subaltern  officer,  placed  as  guard  of  a 
prison,  he  had  no  power  to  alter  the  existing  conditions.  The 
nature  of  the  food,  the  number  of  inmates  and  the  lack  of 
comforts  were  as  totally  beyond  his  control  as  was  the  heat  of 
the  southern  sun;  and,  far  from  being  the  fiend  he  was  por- 
trayed to  be,  the  kindliness  and  humanity  of  his  nature  are 
attested  by  all  those  who  knew  him.  It  is  proved  by  the  un- 
impeachable testimony  of  Dr.  Stephenson,  General  Imboden, 
and  others  who  were  with  him  at  Andersonville  that  he  was 
always  most  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  prisoners  in  his 
care;  that  he  deeply  deplored  their  sufferings  and  did  all  in 
his  power  to  alleviate  them.  We  find  that,  by  letters  and 
reports,  he  sought  to  bring  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  camp  to 
the  notice  of  the  proper  authorities,  suggesting  and  urging  the 
trial  of  such  remedies  as  occurred  to  him  to  be  practicable. 
Except  for  about  three  weeks  in  AugiTSt,  1864,  when,  gan- 


^  THE    TRIAI,    OF    HENKY    WIEZ  155 

greoie  having  attacked  an  old  wound  in  his  arm,  he  was  sent 
to  Augusta  by  order  of  his  physician,  he  was  never  absent 
from  his  post  of  duty,  but  was  engaged  day  and  night  with 
the  other  faithful  surgeons  in  attending  to  the  needs  of  the 
sick  and  dying.  Every  prison  inspector  would  have  testified 
to  these  things  had  it  been  permitted. 

Yet  one  last  chance  of  life  was  to  be  offered  Wirz.  ''On 
the  night  before  the  execution/'  says  his  lawyer,  Louis  Schade, 
"some  parties  came  to  the  confessor  of  Wirz,  Eev,  Father 
Boyle,  and  also  to  me,  one  of  them  informing  me  that  a  high 
cabinet  officer  wished  to  assure  Wirz  that,  if  he  would  impli- 
cate Jefferson  Davis  with  the  atrocities  committed  at  Ander- 
sonville,  his  sentence  would  be  commuted.  He  requested 
me  to  inform  Wirz  of  this.  In  the  presence  of  Father  Boyle, 
I  told  Wirz  next  morning  what  had  happened.  The  Captain 
simply  and  quietly  replied :  'Mr.  Schade,  you  know  that  I 
have  always  told  you  that  I  do  not  know  anything  about 
Jefferson  Davis.  He  had  no  connection  with  me  as  to  what 
was  done  at  Andersonville.  If  I  knew  anything  of  him  I 
would  not  become  a  traitor  against  him,  or  anybody  else,  even 
to  save  my  life.'  With  his  wounded  arm  in  a  sling,  the 
poor  prisoner  mounted,  two  hours  later,  the  scaffold.  His 
last  words  were  that  he  died  innocent.  The  10th  day 
of  iN^ovember,  1865,  will,  indeed,  be  a  black  stain  upon  the 
pages  of  American  history.  'Not  even  a  Christian  burial  of 
the  remains  of  Captain  Wirz  was  allowed  by  Secretary  Stan- 
ton. They  still  lie  side  by  side  with  those  of  another  acknowl- 
edged victim  of  the  military  commission,  the  unfortunate 
Mrs.  Surratt,  in  the  yard  of  the  former  jail  of  this  city." 

Far  from  his  native  land  and  kindred,  and  apparently  for- 
saken by  the  land  of  his  adoption,  surrounded  by  enemies 
whose  every  look  spoke  execration,  Wirz  lingered  in  prison 
alternating  between  hope  and  despair  and  hardly  recognizing 
himself  in  the  monster  whose  crimes  were  being  blazoned  to 
the  world.     His  cup  of  woe  was  very  full. 

!N"ear  the  end  of  his  trial  he  wrote  a  letter  of  appeal  to 


156  THE  NORTH  CAKOLHSTA  BOOKLET 

Presideoat  Jolinsoii,  in  which  his  innocense  of  crime  and  his 
simplicity  of  soul  speak  for  themselves.  He  protests  his  inno- 
cense. "I  am  charged  with  crimes  so  heinous,",  he  says,  "the 
mere  thought  of  them  makes  me  shudder.  Truly  when  I  pass 
in  my  mind  over  the  testimony  given  I  sometimes  almost 
doubt  my  own  existence.  I  doubt  that  I  am  the  Captain  Wirz 
spoken  of.  I  doubt  that  such  a  man  ever  lived,  such  as  he  is 
said  to  be,  and  I  am  inclined  to  call  upon  the  mountains  to 
bury  me  and  hide  my  shame.  I  have  erred  as  all  other 
human  beings,  but  of  those  things  of  which  I  am  accused  I 
am  not  guilty." 

'No  appeal  could  avail  to  save  one  doomed  from  the  first 
to  die — a  vicarious  sacrifice  for  the  imputed  crimes  of  the 
South. 

Four  days  later  Wirz  was  released  from,  suffering,  and  he 
passed  from  the  jurisdiction  of  an  earthly  tribunal,  where 
malignity  had  usurped  the  place  of  justice,  to  that  higher 
judgment  seat,  before  which  the  unjust  judge  and  the  inno- 
cent victim  must  alike  appear. 


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Vol.  XVUI 


APRIL,  1919 


No.  4 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


GREAT  EVENTS 

IN 

NORTH  CAROLINA 
HISTORY 


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CONTENTS 

John  Steele  (concluded) 159 

By  Abchibaxd  Henderson 

Life  and  Services  of  Colonel  Jonas  Johnston 178 

By  Kemp  Davis  Battle 

A  Composition  by  John  Graham 188 


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The  I^drtli  Carolina  Booklet 

Great  Events  in  North  Carolina  History 


Volume  XIX  of  The  Booklet  will  be  issued  quarterly  by  the 
North  Carolina  Society,  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  beginning  July, 
1919.  The  Booklet  will  be  published  in  July,  October,  January,  and 
A]iril.     Price  $1.00  per  year,  35  cents  for  single  copy. 

Editor  : 
Miss  Maby  Hilliaed  Hinton. 

Biographical  Editor  : 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 

VOLUME  XIX. 

Social  Life  in  the  Sixties. 

William  Boylan,  Editor  of  The  Minerva. 

History  of  Transportation  in  North  Carolina. 

Services  of  the  North  Carolina  Women  in  the  World  War. 

Literature  and  Libraries  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  in  North 
Carolina. 

Confederate  Currency — William  West  Bradbeer. 

How  Patriotic  Societies  Can  Help  to  Preserve  the  Records  of  the 
World  War. 

History  of  Some  Famous  Carolina  Summer  Resorts. 

History  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina — Major  W.  A.  Graham. 

The  Old  Borough  Town  of  Salisbury — Dr.  Archibald  Henderson. 

_ Mr,  Frank  Nash. 

Brief  Historical  Notes  will  appear  from  time  to  time  in  The 
Booklet,  information  that  is  worthy  of  preservation,  but  which  if  not 
preserved  in  a  permanent  form  will  be  lost. 

Historical  Book  Reviews  will  be  contributed.  These  will  be  re- 
views of  the  latest  historical  works  written  by  North  Carolinians. 

The  Genealogical  Department  will  be  continued  with  a  page  devoted 
to  Genealogical  Queries  and  Answers  as  an  aid  to  genealogical  re- 
search in  the  State. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  Colonial  Dames  of  America  wUl  fur- 
nish copies  of  unpublished  records  for  publication  in  The  Booklet. 

Biographical  Sketches  will  be  continued  under  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffit. 

Old  Letters,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  different  periods  of  North  Carolina  History,  will  appear  here- 
after in  The  Booklet. 

This  list  of  subjects  may  be  changed,  as  circiunstances  sometimes 
prevent  the  writers  from  keeping  their  engagements. 

The  histories  of  the  separate  counties  will  in  the  future  be  a 
special  feature  of  The  Booklet.  When  necessary,  an  entire  issue 
will  be  devoted  to  a  paper  on  one  county. 

Parties  who  wish  to  renew  their  subscriptions  to  The  Booklett 
for  Vol.  XIX  are  requested  to  give  notice  at  once. 

Many  numbers  of  Volumes  I  to  XVIII  for  sale. 

For  particulars  address 

Miss  Mary  Hilliabd  Hinton, 

Editor  North  Carolina  BooTclet, 
"Midway  Plantation,"  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


Vol.  XVIII  APRIL,  1919  No.  4 


North  Carolina  Booklet 


"Carolina!  Carolina!  Heaven's  blessings  attend  her! 
While  we  live  we  will  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her" 


Published  by 

THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  object  of  The  Booklet  is  to  aid  in  developing  and  preserving 
Nortli  Carolina  History.  The  proceeds  arising  from  its  publication 
will  be  devoted  to  patriotic  purposes.  Editoe. 


RALEIGH 

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ADVISORY  BOARD  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


Mrs.  Hubert  Haywood. 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 
Mr.  R.  D.  W.  Connor. 
Dr.  D.  H.  Hnx. 
Dr.  William  K.  Boyd. 
Capt.  S.  a.  Ashe. 
Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fries. 


Miss  Martha  Helen  Haywood. 

Dr.  Richard  Dillard. 

Mr.  James  Sprunt. 

Mr.  Marshall  DeLancey  Haywood. 

Chief  Justice  Walter  Clark. 

Major  W.  A.  Graham. 

Dr.  Charles  Lee  Smith. 


editor  : 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton. 

biographical  editor  : 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  SOCIETY 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

1919-1920 


Mrs.  Marshall  Williams, 
Regent,  Faison. 

Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt,  Honorary 
Regent,  Richmond,  Va. 

Mrs.  Thomas  K.  Bruner, 
Honorary  Regent,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 
1st  Vice-Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  2d  Vice- 
Regent,  Raleigh. 

Mrs.  George  P.  Pell,  Recording 
Secretary,  Raleigh. 

Miss  Winifred  Faison,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  Faison. 


Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Historian, 

Faison. 
Mrs.  Charles  Lee  Smith, 

Treasurer,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  George  Ramsey,  Registrar, 

Raleigh. 
Mrs.  John  E.  Ray,  Custodian  of 

Relics,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  Laurence  Covington, 

Executive  Secretary,  Raleigh. 
Mrs.  Charles  Wales, 

Genealogist,  Edenton. 
Miss  Catherine  Albertson, 

Junior  Director,  Elizabeth  City. 


CHAPTER  REGENTS 

Bloomsbury  Chapter Mrs.  Paul  H.  Lee,  Regent. 

Penelope  Barker  Chapter ,  Regent. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Chapter Mrs.  I.  M.  Meekins,  Regent. 

General  Francis  Nash  Chapter Miss  Rebecca  Cameron,  Regent. 

Roanoke  Chapter Mrs.  F.  M.  Allen,  Regent. 

Mary  Slocumb  Chapter Miss  Georgia  Hicks,  Regent. 

Colonel  Thomas  Robeson  Chapter Mrs.  Annie  Buie,  Regent. 

Tuscarora  Chapter Mrs.  C.  H.  Hunter,  Regent. 


Founder  of  the  North  Carolina  Society  and  Regent  1896-1902 ; 

Mrs.  spier  WHITAKER.* 

Regent  1902 : 

Mrs.  D.  H.  HILL,   SR.t 

Regent  1902-1906: 

Mrs.  THOMAS  K.  BRUNER. 

Regent  1906-1910: 

Mrs.  E.  E.  MOFFITT. 

Regent  1910-1917: 


•Died  November  25,  1911. 
tDied  December  12,  1904. 


The  North  Carolina  Booklet 

Vol.  XVIII  APRIL,  1919  No.  4 

John  Steele 

(Concluded) 
By  Archebaud  Henderson 


As  early  as  1793,  Steele  was  under  consideration  for 
national  prefernient.  His  talents  were  especially  appreciated 
by  Hamilton,  who  remained  in  correspondence  with  him. 
The  fact  that  Steele,  in  1792,  though  under  thirty  years  of 
age,  had  been  prominently  pressed  for  the  Senate,  and  again 
in  1795  had  been  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  Senate, 
gave  him  strong  claims  to  recognition  by  Washington,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  him  and  had  a  very  favorable  opin- 
ion of  his  ability.  Upon  the  resignation  of  John  Davis  of 
Massachusetts  as  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  John  Steele 
was  appointed  to  that  office,  his  commission  bearing  the  date 
July  1,  1796. 

Before  taking  up  in  more  detail  the  career  of  Steele  as 
Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  some  quotations  from  the  corre- 
spondence of  Steele  and  Hamilton  may  throw  interesting 
sidelights  upon  important  events  and  issues  of  the  time.  In 
a  letter  to  Steele  (Philadelphia,  October  15,  1792),  Hamil- 
ton makes  a  noteworthy  pronouncement  upon  the  presidential 
situation,  which  is  of  especial  interest  for  its  reference  to 
Aaron  Burr,  Hamilton's  evil  genius. 

Mr.  Adams  is  the  man  who  will  be  supported  in  the  Northern  and 
Middle  States  by  the  friends  of  the  Government.  They  reason  thus— 
"Mr.  Adams,  like  other  men,  has  his  faults  and  his  foibles — -some 
of  the  opinions  he  is  supposed  to  entertain,  we  do  not  approve  .  .  . 
but  we  believe  him  to  be  honest,  firm,  faithful  and  independent— a 
sincere  lover  of  his  country — a  real  friend  to  genuine  liberty ;  but 
combining  his  attachment  to  that  with  the  love  of  order  and  stable 


160  THE  KORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

government.  No  man's  private  character  can  be  fairer  than  his. 
No  man  has  given  stronger  proofs  than  him  of  disinterested  and 
intrepid  patriotism.  We  will  therefore  support  him  as  far  preferable 
to  any  one  who  is  likely  to  be  opposed  to  him." 

Who  will  be  seriously  opposed  to  him — I  am  yet  at  a  loss  to 
decide.  One  while,  Governor  Clinton  appeared  to  be  the  man.  Of 
late  there  have  been  symptoms  of  Col.  Burr's  canvassing  for  it. 
Some  say,  one  or  both,  of  these  will  be  played  off  as  a  diversion 
in  favour  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

I  do  not  scruple  to  say  to  you  that  my  preference  of  Mr.  Adams 
to  either  of  these  characters  is  decided.  As  to  Mr.  Clinton,  he  is  a 
man  of  narrow  and  perverse  politics,  and  as  well  under  the  former 
as  under  the  present  Government  he  has  been  steadily  since  the 
termination  of  the  War  with  Great  Britain  opposed  to  national  prin- 
ciples. My  opinion  of  Mr.  Burr  is  yet  to  form — but  according  to 
the  present  state  of  it,  he  is  a  man  whose  only  political  principle 
is  to  mount  at  all  events — to  the  highest  legal  honors  of  the  Nation, 
and  as  much  further  as  circumstances  will  carry  him.  Imputations 
not  favorable  to  his  integrity  as  a  man  rest  upon  him ;  but  I  do  not 
vouch  for  their  authenticity. 

There  was  a  time,  when  I  should  have  balanced  between  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson and  Mr.  Adams ;  but  I  now  view  the  former  as  a  man  of  sub- 
limated and  paradoxical  imagination  cherishing  notions  incompati- 
ble with  regular  and  firm  government.* 

On  April  8,  1793,  Edmund  Charles  Genet,  the  accredited 
representative  of  the  new  French  Republic,  landed  at  Charles- 
ton. It  was  with  a  feeling  little  short  of  consternation  that 
the  American  people  noted  his  extraordinary  activities  in 
enlisting  seamen,  commissioning  oificerS',  and  fitting  out  pri- 
vateers, for  the  unconcealed  purpose  of  preying  upon  British 
commerce.  One  week  after  Washington  issued  his  Proclama- 
tion of  JSTeutrality  (April  22,  1793),  Genet  was  at  Salisbury, 
ISTorth  Carolina,  on  his  way  northward;  and  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Steele  to  Hamilton  (Salis- 
bury, April  30,  1793)  contains  a  vivid  pen-picture  at  close 
range  of  Citizen  Genet  at  this  stirring  period  in  American 
history : 

This  morning  Mr.  Genet,  the  French  Minister,  set  out  from  this 
place  for  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  You  have  heard  much  of  this  citizen, 
no  doubt,  and  therefore  anything  of  him  from  me  will  seem  super- 


*  For   a   copy  of   this   letter   I    am   indebted   to   the   courtesy   of   Judge   H.   G. 
Connor. 


JOHN    STEELE  161 

fluous ;  but  as  I  am  writing  of  the  man  tliat  we  are  all  afraid  of, 
permit  me  to  say  that  he  has  a  good  person,  fine  ruddy  complexion, 
quite  active,  and  seems  always  in  a  bustle,  more  like  a  busy  man 
than  a  man  of  business.  A  Frenchman  in  his  manners,  he  announces 
himself  in  all  companies  as  the  minister  of  the  republic,  &c.,  talks 
freely  of  his  commission,  and  like  most  Europeans,  seems  to  have 
adopted  mistaken  notions  of  the  penetration  and  knowledge  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  He  is,  or  affects  to  be,  highly  grati- 
fied by  the  affectionate  treatment  he  has  thus  far  experienced  from 
the  Americans,  except  of  Charleston,  where  an  insult  was  offered 
to  a  French  seaman,  which  he  attributes  to  the  merchants,  who 
seem  in  his  opinion  almost  wholly  attached  to  the  British.  The 
minister,  notwithstanding  his  good-nature,  spoke  angrily  of  this 
insult,  and  for  a  moment  deviated  from  his  system,  which  I  think 
is  to  laugh  us  into  the  war,  if  he  can.  The  best  informed  men  in  this 
State,  who  are  wholly  disinterested,  continue  uneasy,  from  an  ap- 
prehension that  our  political  connection  with  France,  and  our  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  England,  will  place  the  United  States  in 
a  delicate,  if  not  a  dangerous  situation  during  the  war. 

I  have  often  said,  on  proper  occasions,  that  the  friends  to  neutral- 
ity and  peace  would  find  in  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  an  able 
and  zealous  friend.  .  .  .  The  best  men  in  this  country  rely  chiefly 
upon  your  talents  and  disposition  to  avoid  the  rocks  which  lie  upon 
the  right  hand,  and  upon  the  left,  ready  to  dash  our  young  govern- 
ment to  pieces  upon  the  least  unskillful  pilotage. 

VI 

On  JSTovember  15,  1796,  Steele  sent  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  ISTorth  Carolina  his  resignation  both  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  the  county  of  Rowan  and  as  Major  General  in  the 
Fourth  Division  of  the  Militia  of  ISTorth  Carolina — in  conse- 
quence of  the  assumption  of  his  new  duties  and  of  his  removal 
to  Philadelphia.  Early  in  July  of  that  year  he  had  formally 
taken  charge  of  the  office  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury, 
in  which  office  he  had  been  preceded  by  ]^icholas  Eveleigh  of 
South  Carolina,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  of  Connecticut,  Jona- 
than Jackson  of  Massachusetts,  and  John  Davis  of  Massa- 
chusetts. For  the  next  six  years,  Steele  assiduously  devoted 
himself  to  the  onerous  and  taxing  duties  of  that  office. 

The  accounting  system  of  the  Treasury  Department,  de- 
signed to  concentrate  all  accounting  agencies  in  that  depart- 
ment, was  created  by  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  first  Secretary 


162  THE   NORTH    CAKOIillirA   BOOKLET 

of  the  Treasury.  In  the  original  organization  of  that  depart- 
ment, by  the  act  of  September  2,  1Y89,  provision  was  made 
by  the  first  Congress  for  a  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  an 
assistant  to  the  Secretary,  a  Comptroller,  an  Auditor,  a  Treas- 
urer, and  a  Register.  Under  the  terms  of  that  act,  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  Comptroller  to  superintend  the  adjustment  and 
preservation  of  all  public  accounts;  to  examine  all  accounts 
settled  by  the  Auditor  and  certify  balances  arising  thereon 
to  the  Register ;  to  countersign  all  warrants  drawn  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  which  were  warranted  by  law; 
to  report  to  the  Secretary  the  official  forms  of  all  papers  to  be 
issued  in  the  different  offices  for  collecting  the  public  reve- 
nue, and  the  manner  and  form  of  keeping  and  stating  the 
accounts  of  the  several  persons  employed  therein ;  to  provide 
for  the  regular  and  punctual  payment  of  all  moneys  which 
may  be  collected  and  to  direct  proceedings  for  all  delinquen- 
cies of  officers  of  the  revenue  and  for  debts  due  the  United 
States. 

Steele  took  up  his  quarters  in  Philadelphia  at  Francis's 
Hotel;  and  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  written  shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  Philadelphia,  he  thus  describes  the  routine  of  his 
daily  life : 

It  will  no  doubt  be  some  satisfaction  to  you  to  know  the  nature 
of  my  office  duties,  and  other  minutiae  relative  to  my  situation.  The 
papers  are  kept  in  a  large  house  in  Chestnut  Street,  about  the  center 
of  the  city.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  his  clerks  occupy  the 
lower  story,  the  comptroller  and  his  clerks  the  rooms  of  the  second 
story,  and  the  Register  of  the  Treasury  and  his  clerks  the  third 
story.  .  .  .  Under  my  direction  there  are  thirteen  clerks  and  a 
doorkeeper,  and  indeed  there  is  business  enough  for  the  whole.  Writ- 
ing, writing,  writing  in  this  department  is  the  whole  duty  of  man, 
and  at  this  you  know  I  can  do  a  reasonable  share.  I  go  to  the  office 
every  morning  after  an  early  breakfast,  continue  there  until  three 
o'clock,  dine,  and  after  dinner  return  to  business  again  until  sunset 
or  dusk.  The  clerks  are  all  at  liberty  after  three  o'clock,  tho'  some 
of  them  return  and  do  business  in  the  afternoon  from  choice.  These 
are  allowed  an  additional  compensation. 

In  the  first  days  of  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  he  wrote 
his  wife :     "In  leisure  books  shall  be  my  companions" ;  but 


JOHN    STEELE  -  163 

it  was  not  long  before  his  duties  became  so  onerous  that  he 
was  kept  regularly  at  his  office  until  nine  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing. "Even  on  Sundays,"  he  says,  "I  have  not  leisure  to  go 
to  church,  except  now  and  then  when  I  understand  a  person 
of  particular  eminence  is  to  preach.  Besides  other  vast  cares 
upon  my  mind,  not  one  dollar  can  go  in,  or  out  of  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States  without  my  name  and  that  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury." 

YII 

An  interesting  picture  of  social  life  in  Philadelphia  and 
in  Washington,  during  the  early  sessions  of  Congress  in  the 
two  capitals,  are  found  in  the  letters  of  General  Steele  and 
his  daughter,  Ann  ]^essfield,  written  home  from  time  to  time 
to  Mrs.  Steele  at  Salisbury.  Mrs.  Steele  seldom  accom- 
panied her  husband  to  either  place ;  and  her  associations  with 
Philadelphia  were  saddened  by  the  death  of  her  infant  son, 
whom  she  lost  there  in  1Y98.  A  few  brief  extracts  from  the 
letters  must  suffice  to  give  us  a  glimpse  or  two  of  the  social 
happenings  of  the  day.  A  corner  of  Steele's  heart,  revealing 
his  deep  and  intense  love  for  his  wife — the  "Polly"  of  his 
letters — is  portrayed  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
to  her,  written  from  Philadelphia  (January  31,  1793),  in 
which  he  mentions  dining  vnth  Washington : 

I  dined  to-day  at  tlie  President's  in  a  very  large  company  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen.  On  such  occasions,  without  you,  I  feel  like  Captain 
O'Blunder,  "Alone  in  the  throng."  The  truth  is,  I  feel  every  day 
more  and  more  disposed  to  believe  that  there  is  no  happiness  to  be 
found  out  of  a  man's  own  house.  Any  mortal  who  thinks  that  honor 
and  fame  will  confer  that  inestimable  boon  called  happiness,  in  the 
end  like  Solomon  will  find  himself  grossly  mistaken.  Believing  in 
that  opinion  I  rejoice  with  all  my  heart  that  my  political  course  is 
almost  finished.  .  .  .  The  President  today  asked  me  to  drink  a 
glass  of  wine  with  him.  This  is  considered  here  a  great  honor.  It 
may  be  so ;  but  I  would  have  been  more  highly  gratified  in  drinking  a 
glass  with  my  own  dear  Polly. 

During  the  year  1801,  General  Steele  was  accompanied  to 
Washington  by  his  sprightly  and  witty  daughter,  Ann  Ness- 


164  THE  NORTH  CAKOLINA  BOOKLET 

field ;  and  they  took  quarters  at  a  Miss  Beall's  in  Gleorgetown. 
A  few  quotations  from  lier  letters  home  carry  the  piquancy 
of  interest  which  attaches  to  experiences  associated  with  per- 
sonages of  historic  note.  Writing  to  her  mother  on  !N^ovem- 
ber  4j  1801,  she  says:  "I  dined  at  Mr.  Madison's  both  last 
Sunday  and  today — nothing  uncommon  in  any  of  the  din- 
ners— not  a  bit  better  than  your  own,  and  in  no  more  style. 
As  for  fashions,  every  thing  is  Crazy  Jane,  and  the 
more  you  can  imitate  a  crazy  person  the  more  fashionable  you 
are."  On  Christmas  day,  1801,  she  writes :  "In  the  morn- 
ing we  visited  the  Roman  Catholic  Chapel  in  this  place 
(Georgetown),  and  were  entertained  with  a  great  quantity 
of  show  but  very  little  substance.  We  returned  home  to 
dinner,  and  drank  tea  with  Mrs.  Orr  from  whence  we  have 
just  returned.  ...  I  was  in  company  with  Mrs.  Murry 
(William  Vans  Murray  ?)  the  evening  before  last  and  must 
positively  give  you  a  description  of  her  head-dress.  Well,  it 
was  a  colored  cotton  handkerchief,  red  and  spotted  with  yel- 
low. ...  I  don't  know  what  to  call  it  for  it  would  be 
highly  improper  to  call  it  a  handkerchief."  At  times,  too, 
Ann  wrote  with  precocious  solemnity  of  her  father's  affairs ; 
and  the  following  extract  must  be  regarded  as  only  partially 
explaining  the  reasons  which  actuated  General  Steele  in  his 
retirement  from  office.  "The  other  evening,"  writes  Ann  to 
her  mother,  not  long  before  her  father  resigned  the  Comp- 
trollership  of  the  Treasury,  "I  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Papa  respecting  his  resignation  and  I  have  concluded  that  it 
is  better  for  him  to  retire  from  public  business.  He  says 
that  as  we  are  situated  now  we  spend  all  his  salary  and  it  will 
appear  very  singular  if  we  should  continue  to  live,  part  of  the 
family  in  Carolina  and  the  other  part  in  Washington ;  and  as 
to  our  living,  all  of  us,  here,  it  is  out  of  the  question,  for  we 
could  not  even  live  comfortably  on  less  than  five  thousand 
dollars,  which  is  just  twice  as  much  as  his  income." 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  memoirs  of  the  period  is  The 
First  Forty  Years  of  Washington  Society,  as  portrayed  by  the 


JOHN    STEELE  165 

family  letters  of  Mrs.  Samuel  Harrison  Smith  (Margaret 
Bayard).  In  a  letter  (July  5,  1801)  to  Hs  sister,  Mary 
Ann  Smithj  Mr.  S.  H.  Smith  draws  a  vivid  picture,  in  which 
Steele  incidentally  appears  and  Jefferson  is,  of  course,  the 
central  figure. 

I  cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  passing  a  few  minutes  with 
you,  chiefly  to  draw  a  picture,  which  I  know  will  give  your  patriotic 
heart  delight,  a  picture  of  Mr.  Jefferson  in  which  he  was  exhibited 
to  the  best  advantage.  About  12  o'clock  yesterday,  the  citizens  of 
Washington  and  Geo.  Town  waited  upon  the  president  to  make  their 
devoirs.  .  .  .  We  found  about  20  persons  present  in  a  room  where 
sat  Mr.  J.  surrounded  by  the  five  Cherokee  chiefs.  After  a  conversa- 
tion of  a  few  minutes,  he  invited  his  company  into  the  usual  dining 
room,  whose  four  large  sideboards  were  covered  with  refreshments, 
such  as  cakes  of  various  kinds,  wine,  punch,  &c.  Every  citizen  was 
invited  to  partake,  as  his  taste  dictated,  of  them,  and  the  invitation  was 
most  cheerfully  accepted,  and  the  consequent  duties  discharged  with 
alacrity.  The  company  soon  increased  to  near  a  hundred,  including 
all  the  public  officers  and  most  of  the  respectable  citizens,  and 
strangers  of  distinction.  Martial  music  soon  announced  the  approach 
of  the  marine  corps  of  Capt.  Burrows,  who  in  due  military  form 
saluted  the  President,  accompanied  by  the  President's  March  played 
by  an  excellent  band  attached  to  the  corps.  After  undergoing 
various  military  evolutions,  the  company  returned  to  the  dining 
room,  and  the  band  from  an  adjacent  room  played  a  succession  of 
fine  patriotic  airs.  All  appeared  to  be  cheerful,  all  happy.  Mr. 
Jefferson  mingled  promiscuously  with  the  citizens,  and  far  from 
designating  any  particular  friends  for  consultation,  conversed  for  a 
short  time  with  every  one  that  came  in  his  way.  It  was  certainly 
a  proud  day  for  him,  the  honours  of  which  he  discharged  with  more 
than  his  usual  care.  At  2  o'clock,  after  passing  2  hours  in  this 
very  agreeable  way,  the  company  separated.  At  4  a  dinner  was 
given  at  McMunn  and  Conrad's,*  where  all  the  civil  and  military 
officers  attended,  and  a  number  of  citizens,  which,  including  the 
former,  amounted  to  about  50.  Everything  here  was  conducted  with 
great  propriety,  and  it  was  not  unamusing  to  see  Mr.  Gallatin, 
Madison,  and  Dearborn  on  one  side  directly  opposite  to  Mr.  Meredith, 
Harrison,  Steele  on  the  other.  .  .  .  Thus  you  see  that  we  are 
here  at  least  all  Republicans  and  all  Federalists. 

VIII 

Upon  the  accession  of  John  Adams  to  the  Presidency, 
Steele  was  retained  in  office  as  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury ; 

*  A  boarding  house  near  the  Capitol. 


166  THE  NORTH  CAKOUNA  BOOKLET 

and  lie  continued  to  fill  that  office  until  the  close  of  Adams's 
administration.  In  the  year  1800  a  division  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Federalists  seriously  threatened  the  chances  of  Adams  in 
the  coming  Presidential  election.  The  Hamiltonian  section 
of  the  party  was  out  of  sympathy  with  the  President.  Oliver 
Wolcott,  although  holding  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, was  deep  in  intrigues  against  Adams ;  and  to  McHenry, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  who  was  also  in  the  cabal,  he  wrote 
(June  18,  1800)  :  "The  prospect  is  almost  certain  that  the 
country  will  be  freed  from  the  greatest  possible  curse,  a  Presi- 
dential administration,  which  no  party  can  trust,  which  is 
incapable  of  adhering  to  any  system,  in  connection  with  which 
no  character  is  safe."  As  soon  as  it  became  plain  that  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney  could  not  be  elected  President,  and  be- 
lieving it  to  be  incompatible  with  honor  and  a  suitable  respect 
to  his  own  character — as  he  put  it! — to  serve  longer  under 
Adams,  Wolcott  sent  in  his  resignation  on  l^ovember  8,  1800, 
to  take  effect  on  the  last  day  of  December.  Two  days  later 
(ISTovember  10),  Adams  accepted  Wolcott's  resignation. 

In  recognition  of  his  gTcat  ability  as  a  financier  and  of  the 
skill,  wisdom  and  discretion  with  which  he  had  administered 
the  office  of  Comptroller  during  two  administrations.  Presi- 
dent Adams  at  once  offered  to  Steele  the  post  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.  Steele  was  loth  to  accept  the  appointment  so 
near  the  end  of  Adams's  administration;  and  wrote  to  his 
close  friend^  John  Haywood,  of  Raleigh,  the  State  Treasurer, 
asking  his  advice  as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue.  In  his 
reply,  Haywood  says:  "The  appointment  now  offered  to 
you  is  completely  gratifying  and  satisfactory  to  me;  inas- 
much as  I  consider  it  among  the  most  distinguished  and  digni- 
fied in  the  gift  of  the  Government.  ...  As  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  you  would  be  of  higher  grade,  and  more 
immediately  of  the  President's  constitutional  advisers  than  at 
present.  ...  I  am  clearly  of  opinion,  you  suffer  your- 
self to  be  too  far  influenced  by  the  principle  of  delicacy  you 
state;  as  a  proof  of  this,  I  am  free  to  say,  that  I  would  as 
soon  and  as  willingly  accept  from  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  last  day 


JOHN    STEELE  167 

of  his  administration,  any  appointment  he  might  think  proper 
to  confer  on  me,  of  which  I  believed  myself  worthy,  and  which 
the  world  or  those  who  knew  me  considered  me  equal,  as  at 
any  point  of  his  administration.  ...  In  every  view  of 
the  business,  I  am  clear  you  ought  to  accept."  Unable  to 
overcome  his  delicacy  of  feeling  in  the  matter,  however,  Steele 
declined  the  distinguished  honor  proffered  him  by  President 
Adams ;  and  on  December  30,  the  President  nominated  Sam- 
uel Dexter  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

IX 

Upon  his  accession  to  office,  Jefferson  appointed  Albert 
Gallatin  to  the  post  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  and  Steele, 
whose  conduct  of  the  office  of  Comptroller  had  been  conspicu- 
ous for  efficiency,  he  persuaded  to  remain.  Steele  remained 
in  office  against  his  own  inclination;  for  he  was  unable  for 
financial  reasons  to  remove  his  entire  family  to  Washington 
and  for  many  months  his  health  had  been  troubling  him. 
Writing  to  Jefferson  on  July  11,  1801,  Steele  says :  "I  have 
for  some  time  past  wished  to  obtain  leave  of  absence  from 
the  seat  of  Government  to  visit  my  friends  in  Carolina,  and 
by  a  temporary  relaxation  from  business,  shake  off,  if  possi- 
ble, a  complaint  which  gives  me  great  uneasiness."  One  year 
later,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  (June  26,  1802),  he  says :  ''Since 
the  middle  of  September,  1800,  I  have  enjoyed  the  society 
and  comforts  of  domestic  life  but  nine  weeks,  and  during  all 
that  time  my  anxieties  have  been  increased  by  a  delicate  state 
of  health,  and  the  incessant  cares  of  a  laborious  office." 

At  some  time  prior  to  this,  Steele  had  communicated  to  his 
close  friend,  N^athaniel  Macon,  his  intention  of  resigning. 
On  June  2,  1802,  Macon,  who  was  really  the  leader  in  Con- 
gress of  the  opposite  party,  wrote  to  Steele :  "I  am  extremely 
desirous  that  you  should  not  retire.  ...  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  saying,  that  I  do  not  know  any  person,  that  would 
be  so  generally  acceptable  as  yourself,  nor  can  a  stronger 
proof  be  given  in  favor  of  any  public  character,  than  that  in 
times  when  party  runs  rather  high,  he  should  by  the  faithful 


168  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

&  upright  discharge  of  his  official  duty  obtain  the  confidence 

of  all  candid  men."     Despite  the  urgency  of  Macon,  of  the 

opposite  political  party  but  his  warm  personal  friend,  Steele 

wrote  as  follows  to  Jefferson : 

gij.  Washington,  June  28,  1802. 

About  the  lOth  of  next  month,  I  wish  to  be  favored  with  your 
permission  to  visit  my  family  in  Carolina.  Hitherto  a  variety  of 
considerations  have  restrained  me  from  removing  them  to  this  place. 
Among  others,  a  desire  not  to  do  anything  which  would  render  it 
inconvenient  for  me  to  conform  to  your  views,  whatever  they  might 
be,  in  relation  to  the  disposition  of  my  office.  I  thought  it  my  duty 
also  to  postpone  any  communication  of  my  sentiments  to  you  on  this 
delicate  subject,  until  you  should  have  had  leisure  to  mature  an 
opinion  of  my  public  conduct,  and  until  Mr  Gallatin,  with  all  the 
assistance  which  I  could  give  him  in  the  mean  time,  should  have 
become  sufficiently  acqviainted  with  the  forms,  and  principles  of  busi- 
ness in  the  Department  to  experience  no  inconvenience  from  a  new 
appointment  if  that  should  be  your  intention,  or  if  circumstances  on 
my  part  should  render  a  resignation  necessary.  After  leaving  the 
seat  of  Government  with  the  permission  which  I  now  solicit,  I  am 
not  certain  that  it  will  suit  me  to  return :  but  if  I  should  conclude  to 
do  so,  my  family  will  accompany  me  about  the  beginning  of  October, 
and  in  deliberating  with  them  in  the  course  of  the  summer  on  a  step 
which  must  be  attended  with  trouble,  and  the  sacrifice  of  many  domes- 
tic comforts,  it  will  be  extremely  gratifying  to  me,  to  be  certain  that  I 
understand  your  wishes.  The  politeness  with  which  you  have  uni- 
formly honored  me  since  our  first  acquaintance,  and  a  certain  bias 
which  is  inseparable  from  the  reflection,  that  we  are  citizens  of  the 
same  Geographical  section  of  the  United  States  cannot  but  increase 
my  reluctance  to  withdraw  my  services,  if  they  are  considered  of 
any  importance  to  your  administration.  Salary  although  necessary 
to  me,  in  relation  to  my  private  circumstances  is  far  from  being 
my  principal  object  in  serving  the  public.  In  a  country  as  free  as 
this  happily  is,  a  man  should  have  higher,  and  better  views. — Mine 
are  regulated  by  a  desire,  I  trust  an  honest  one,  to  be  useful  and  in 
that  way  to  acquire  reputation,  by  deserving  it.  I  am  sensible, 
however  that  in  times  like  the  present,  it  is  not  possible  for  any  man 
to  continue  in  such  an  Ofiice,  with  satisfaction  to  himself,  or  advan- 
tage to  the  public  unless  he  can  have  reason  to  be  assured  that  your 
confidence  in  his  fitness  is  entire. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir 

With  sentiments  of  perfect  respect 
Your  most  obt  servant 
Jno  Steele 
Thomas  Jefferson  Esq 

President  of  the  United  States. 


JOHlSr    STEELE  169 

In  his  very  courteous  reply^  written  two  days  later,  the 
President  sayS;  among  other  things:  "I  am  happy  in  the 
occasion  it  (your  letter)  presents  of  assuring  you  unequivo- 
cally that  I  have  been  entirely  satisfied  with  your  conduct  in 
office,  that  I  consider  it  for  the  public  benefit  that  you  should 
continue,  &  that  I  never  have  for  one  moment  entertained  a 
wish  to  the  contrary.  I  will  add,  and  with  sincerity  that  I 
should  with  reluctance  see  any  circumstance  arise  which 
should  render  your  continuance  in  office  inconsistent  with 
your  domestic  interests  or  comfort,  the  possibility  of  which 
is  intimated  in  your  letter.  Your  deliberations  with  your 
family  therefore  on  their  removal  hither  may  be  safely  bot- 
tomed on  the  sincerity  of  these  dispositions  on  my  part ;  and 
I  shall  be  happy  if  they  should  have  the  effect  of  determining 
their  &  your  resolutions  to  that  measure."  To  this  letter  of 
the  President,  Steele  made  the  following  reply : 

Washington,  July  1st  1802. 
Sir, 

I  am  extremely  gratified,  and  obliged  by  your  favor  of  yesterday. 
It  has  determined  me  to  postpone  my  journey  to  Carolina  until  the 
last  week  of  this  month  which  is  the  more  agreeable  to  me,  as  my 
absence  will  then  correspond  with  the  general  arrangements  of  the 
Executive. 

If  my  private  affairs  can  possibly  be  made  to  admit  of  it,  a  sense 
of  gratitude  for  what  I  consider  equivalent  to  a  new  appointment 
will  induce  me  to  return :  but  whether  in  or  out  of  office,  I  pray  you 
to  be  assured,  that  I  shall  always  consider  it  a  flattering  distinction 
to  be  honored  with  your  confidence,  and  that  it  will  be  my  study  and 
my  pride  to  merit  the  favorable  opinion  which  you  have  had  the 
goodness  to  express  to  me. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir 

With  the  highest  consideration 
Your   most   obedient   servt 
Jno  Steele 
Thomas  Jefferson  Esqre 

President  of  the  United  States. 

Upon  his  return  to  Salisbury  on  August  17,  and  after  con- 
sultation with  his  family,  all  of  whom  like  himself  were  in 
poor  health.  General  Steele  sent  in  his  resignation  to  the 
President. 


170  TPIE    NORTH    CAKOLINA    BOOKLET 

gij,  Salisbuby,  September  SOth  1802. 

After  leaving  the  seat  of  government  on  the  6th  of  Augt  last  with 
the  permission  which  you  did  me  the  favor  to  grant  to  me  I  arrived 
at  this  place  on  the  17th  where  I  found  my  family  in  their  usual 
health ;  but  I  had  been  at  home  only  a  few  days  before  nearly  the 
whole  of  them  (Mrs  Steele  of  the  number)  were  taken  down  with 
a  fever  which  prevails  very  generally  among  the  inhabitants  of  this 
part  of  the  country.  Scarcely  a  single  family  in  our  neighborhood 
can  be  said  to  have  escaped.  Mine  continues  to  be  so  much  indis- 
posed that  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  relinquishing  (for  the  pres- 
ent) the  intention  of  removing  them  to  the  seat  of  government,  and 
consequently  of  requesting  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  accept  my 
resignation  of  the  office  of  Comptr  of  the  Treasury.  With  my  resig- 
nation you  will  I  hope  also  have  the  goodness  to  accept  an  assurance, 
that  I  am  duly  sensible  of  your  polite  treatment  and  that  in  future 
it  cannot  but  be  a  source  of  pleasing  and  grateful  reflection  to  me 
to  have  been  invited  by  you  to  continue  in  the  public  service. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir 
With  perfect  consideration 

Your  mot  obt  &  hume  servant 
Thomas  Jefferson  Esqre  Jno  Steele. 

President  of  the  U.  States. 

Bj  this  same  post,  Steele  sent  a  letter  to  IlTatlianiel  Macon, 
in  which  he  says :  ''Since  the  last  of  Aug*  my  family  has 
been  so  much  indisposed  (Mrs.  Steele  of  the  number)  that 
I  have  not  in  my  power  to  make  any  arrangements  in  my 
private  affairs  preparatory  to  their  removal  to  the  seat  of 
Grovemment,  and  it  is  too  irksome  to  live  there  as  I  have  done 
for  some  time  past  without  them.  Thus  circumstanced  I 
have  found  myself  under  the  necessity  of  relinquishing  (for 
the  present)  the  intention  of  returning.  The  mail  which 
carries  this  carries  also  a  letter  to  the  President  requesting 
him  to  accept  my  resignation."  At  the  same  time,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Gallatin,  he  says :  "In 
conducting,  for  six  years  past,  the  business  of  an  office  dis- 
tinguished for  the  labor  and  responsibility  which  it  imposes 
my  first  object  has  constantly  been  fidelity  to  the  public,  the 
second,  a  respectful  deportment  toward  those  with  whom  it 
was  my  duty  to  maintain  official  intercourse.  It  will  afford 
me  no  small  degree  of  gratification  to  understand  that  I  have 
succeeded  in  these  to  your  satisfaction." 


JOHN    STEELE  lYl 

The  genuine  regret  which  Macon  felt  over  Steele's  resigna- 
tion is  expressed  in  the  following  quotation  from  a  letter  to 
Steele,  written  from  Buck  Spring,  Macon's  plantation,  on 
October  10,  1802 :  "Yours  of  the  30  ultimo  has  been  re- 
ceived, and  it  is  with  real  sorrow  that  I  learn  of  your  determi- 
nation to  resign.  The  reason  which  produces  the  resignation 
is  surely  a  cogent  one,  but  I  think  it  probable  that  the  season 
is  approaching  which  will  restore  your  family  to  health,  and 
then  you  might  with  convenience  have  removed  them  to  Wash- 
ing-ton. The  office  of  Comptroller  is  surely  among  the  most 
important  in  the  TJ.  S.,  especially  as  it  relates  to  revenue; 
besides  this,  the  settling  accounts  with  foreigners,  is  one  in 
which  both  the  interest  and  honor  of  the  nation  are  concerned ; 
nor  can  I  close  this  sentence  without  repeating  my  sincere 
regret  at  your  resignation ;  who  will  be  your  successor  I  can- 
not even  guess.  'No  doubt  many  may  be  found  willing 
enough  to  accept  the  office  who  know  nothing  of  the  duties ; 
and  I  devoutly  wish  that  a  successor  may  be  found,  adequate 
in  all  respects  to  the  office;  I  know  from  the  best  authority 
that  the  President  was  highly  pleased  with  your  conduct 

The  incident  closes  with  Jefferson's  letter  to  Steele  (De^ 
cember  10,  1802),  accepting  his  resignation,  in  which  the 
President  pays  Steele  this  gracious  tribute : 

Although  in  a  former  letter  I  expressed  to  you  without  disguise 
the  satisfaction  which  your  conduct  in  office  since  my  coming  into 
the  administration  had  given  me,  yet  I  repeat  it  here  with  pleasure ; 
and  testify  to  you  that  setting  just  value  on  the  able  services  you 
rendered  the  public  in  the  discharge  of  your  official  duties,  I  should 
have  seen  your  continuance  in  office  with  real  pleasure  &  satisfaction 
and  I  pray  you  to  be  assured  that  in  the  state  of  retirement  you  have 
proposed,  you  have  my  prayers  for  your  happiness  and  prosperity, 
and  my  esteem  and  high  consideration. 


Upon  a  number  of  occasions.  General  Steele  was  called 
upon  by  both  the  national  and  state  governments,  to  exercise 
his  diplomatic  and  executive  talents  as  boundary  commis- 


1T2  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

sioner.  In  1797,  Tennessee  addressed  a  memorial  and  re- 
monstrance to  the  United  States  upon  the  subject  of  the 
Indian  title  to  lands  within  that  State.  Following  a  discus- 
sion in  'Congress,  President  Adams  appointed  as  commis- 
sioners for  concluding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  John  Steele, 
Alfred  Moore,  and  George  Walton.  After  preliminary  nego- 
tiations were  conducted  in  midsummer,  1798,  the  definitive 
treaty  was  concluded  at  Tellico  on  October  2,  1798,  the 
Hon,  George  Walton  and  Lieut.-Colonel  Thomas  Butler  act- 
ing as  commissioners  on  behalf  of  the  United  States — Moore 
having  returned  to  ISTorth  Carolina  and  Steele  having  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia  to  resume  his  duties  as  Comptroller 
of  the  Treasury. 

Pursuant  to  a  resolution  passed  by  the  State  of  ISTorth- 
Carolina  in  1801,  the  correspondence  between  the  governors 
of  ISTorth  Carolina  and  South  Carolina  resulting  therefrom, 
and  the  passage  of  certain  acts  of  the  general  assembly  of 
ISTorth  Carolina  in  1803  and  1804,  Governor  James  Turner 
in  October,  1805,  appointed  as  commissioners  on  the  l^orth 
Carolina-South  Carolina  boundary  line  General  John  Steele, 
Colonel  John  Moore,  and  General  James  Wellborn.  After 
a  series  of  meetings  between  the  commissioners  of  the  two 
States,  an  extended  conference  was  held  at  Columbia,  S.  C, 
in  July,  1808,  and  articles  of  agreement  were  drawn  up. 
Disagreement  arising  over  the  third  article  of  the  "Conven- 
tional Agreement,"  another  set  of  commissioners  was  ap- 
pointed in  December,  1812,  by  Governor  William  Hawkins, 
to  wit:  John  Steele,  Montfort  Stokes,  and  Robert  Burton. 
Following  a  series  of  conferences  with  the  South  Carolina 
commissioners,  a  provisional  article  was  entered  into  on 
September  4,  1813,  which  was  ratified  by  the  two  States; 
and  the  line  was  accordingly  run  and  marked.  General 
Steele,  who  played  the  leading  part  in  this  difiicult  and  deli- 
cate negotiation,  gained  universal  approbation  for  the  ability, 
tactfulness,  and  skill  which  he  displayed  throughout. 

The  most   difiicult   of   all  the  boundary   disputes  which 


JOHN    STEELE  1Y3 

General  Steele  was  concerned  in  settling  was  the  famous  con- 
troversy between  Georgia  and  ]^ortli  Carolina  over  tiie  "or- 
phan strip,"  a  tract  of  territory  some  twelve  miles  wide  in 
Buncombe  County,  ISTorth  Carolina,  which  Georgia  in  1803 
erected  into  the  county  of  Walton.  This  territory  lay  south 
of  the  thirty-fifth  degTce  of  latitude,  as  then  located;  but 
grave  doubts  were  raised  as  to  the  proper  location  of  this  line. 
I^Torth  Carolina  scientists  having  located  this  line  far  to  the 
south  of  where  it  was  supposed  to  run,  North  Carolina  served 
notice  upon  Georgia  in  1805  of  her  claim  to  the  territory  as 
part  of  Buncombe  County.  Following  disturbances  in  the 
territory.  Governor  Jared  Irwin  of  Georgia  wrote  Governor 
ISTathaniel  Alexander  of  North  Carolina,  suggesting  the  ap- 
pointment of  commissioners  to  settle  the  disputed  boundary. 
On  January  1,  1807,  Governor  Alexander  appointed  John 
Steele,  John  Moore,  and  James  Wellborn  as  conunissioners ; 
and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Caldwell,  President  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  acted  as  scientist  for  the  State  in  making 
the  observations.  When  the  thirty-fifth  degree  of  latitude 
was  run,  it  was  found  to  be  "twenty-two  miles  within  old 
Buncombe" — much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Georgians ; 
and  it  was  agreed  by  all  that  the  actual  line  ran  a  little  south 
of  Caesar's  Head.  The  provisional  agreement  entered  into 
by  the  commissioners  on  June  27,  1807,  led  to  an  extended 
controversy,  which  was  finally  productive  of  considerable 
bloodshed.  North  Carolina  ratified  the  agreement ;  but  Geor- 
gia refused  to  accept  the  findings  of  her  own  commissioners. 
Having  once  already  appealed  to  Congress  for  settlement, 
Georgia  again  in  1807  appealed  to  Congress,  but  unsuccess- 
fully— Congress  paying  no  attention  to  the  matter.  For  the 
next  three  years,  Georgia  persisted  without  success  in  her 
efforts  to  retain  the  territory ;  and  finally  North  Carolina  had 
to  dispatch  a  company  of  State  militia  in  December,  1810, 
to  take  possession  of  the  county  of  Walton.  Two  pitched 
battles,  and  some  small  skirmishes,  in  which  a  number  of 

lives  were  lost,  were  fought  before  the  Georgians  were  finally 
2 


174  THE    ISrOKTH    CAKOLINA    BOOKLET 

ousted  and  the  so-called  coTinty  of  Walton,   Georgia,   was 
finally  merged  into  Buncombe  County,  ISTortli  Carolina. 

XI 

Wlien  General  Steele  resigned  his  post  as  Comptroller  of 
the  Treasury,  it  was  his  intention  to  devote  his  leisure  to  the 
pleasures  of  polite  literature,  in  particular  the  reading  of 
French  works  in  which  he  was  proficient ;  to  improvements  in 
agriculture  on  a  scientific  and  intensive  basis ;  and  to  the  calm 
enjoyments  of  domestic  life  in  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
which  had  so  long  been  denied  him.  "These,"  he  observed 
to  Macon,  "will  fill  up  my  time  to  the  exclusion  of  politicks, 
and  with  them  I  trust  every  passion  which  co'uld  disturb  a 
virtuous  and  tranquil  retirement."  General  Steele  had  quite 
extensive  land  holdings,  including  plantations  and  town  lots. 
The  two  major  properties  were  the  beautiful  plantation  of 
eight  hundred  acres,  "Lethe,"  on  the  Yadkin  River  below  the 
Trading  Ford  and  next  to  Albert  Torrence's  plantation ;  and 
"Lombardy,"  the  estate  near  Salisbury  where  his  family 
resided,  including  upwards  of  nine  hundred  acres.  The 
dwelling  house,  which  was  erected  in  the  first  years  of  the 
last  century  on  the  latter  property,  is  today  in  excellent 
preservation,  although  modernized  in  appearance. 

The  members  of  the  Steele  family,  as  their  letters  show, 
were  on  terms  of  delightful  ease  and  informality  in  their 
intellectual  intercourse  with  each  other — a  relationship  some- 
what unusual  in  an  age  marked  by  stilted  language  and 
formal  deportment.  Ann  N^essfield  was  educated  at  Dr. 
Van  Vleck's  famous  Moravian  School  at  Bethlehem,  Penn- 
sylvania; and  she  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  with  her  father. 
Mrs.  Steele  seldom  went  on  to  Washington  or  Philadelphia ; 
and  General  Steele's  enforced  absence  from  home  for  long 
periods  of  time  was  a  source  of  continuing  regret  to  all  the 
family.  Of  the  children  of  General  and  Mrs.  Steele,  three 
died  in  infancy — one  bom  at  Salisbury  who  died  without  a 
name  in  the  summer  of  1Y86 ;  a  son,  William,  who  was  born 


JOHlSr   STEELE  1T5 

at  Salisbury  on  March  18,  1793,  and  died  August  18,  1Y94; 
and  another  son,  born  in  Philadelphia  on  January  4,  1798, 
who  died  May  4  following  without  a  name,  the  body  being 
interred  in  the  Pine  Street  Meeting  House  burying  ground. 
Three  daughters  survived:  Ann  iN^essfield,  bom  January  27, 
1784,  who  was  married  to  General  Jesse  A.  Pearson  on  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1804,  and  died  October  4  of  the  same  year;  Eliza- 
beth, born  August  5,  1795,  who  was  married  on  June  28, 
1814,  to  Colonel  Robert  Macnamara,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Salisbury,  and  died  at  Annsfield,  near  Salisbury,  ISTovember 
28,  1834;  and  Margaret  Gillespie,  bom  January  31,  1790, 
who  was  married  to  Dr.  Stephen  Lee  Ferrand,  a  distinguished 
physician  of  Salisbury,  on  March  3,  1819,  and  died,  as  did 
her  infant  also,  on  May  13,  1824. 

After  his  retirement  from  public  life.  General  Steele  as- 
siduously devoted  himself  to  that  course  of  general  reading 
which,  as  he  expressed  it  to  Macon,  "keeps  me  employed  with 
the  hope  of  becoming  a  more  intelligent  and  useful  member 
of  society."  After  the  model  of  Washington,  he  carried  out 
experiments  in  improved  modes  of  agriculture ;  managed  his 
estate  with  efficiency  and  economy ;  and  in  particular,  devoted 
no  little  attention  to  the  rearing  and  racing  of  blooded  horses. 
He  was  a  leading  figure  in  the  Salisbury  Jockey  Club;  and 
the  annual  races  run  there  were  conducted  according  to  regu- 
lations which  he  drew  up.  Probably  the  most  famous  of  his 
racing  horses  were  the  blood-bay,  "Statesburg,"  whose  per- 
formances on  the  turf  were  pronounced  by  contemporary 
authorities  to  "have  equalled  if  not  surpassed  those  of  any 
horse  of  his  size  on  the  Continent" ;  and  "Midas,"  another 
famous  racing  horse  of  wonderful  speed.  These  and  others 
of  his  blooded  horses  ran  in  the  big  races  of  the  day — at  Salis- 
bury, Cheraw,  Camden,  and  Charleston. 

While  living  the  life  of  the  gentleman  farmer,  who  assidu- 
ously read  the  classics  and  the  standard  works  of  polite  litera- 
ture, and  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence  with  the 
leading  men  of  the  day,  General  Steele  was  by  no  means 


176  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

divorced  from  public  activity  during  the  last  decade  of  his 
life.  There  were  the  onerous  and  exacting  duties  of  bound- 
ary commissioner,  which  involved  considerable  correspond- 
ence and  the  writing  of  voluminous  reports.  Moreover, 
General  Steele  was  frequently  called  upon  to  represent  the 
Salisbury  District  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  served  in 
the  Legislatures  of  1806,  1811,  1812,  and  1813,  sometimes 
as  Speaker  of  the  House;  and  he  was  elected  for  another 
term  on  the  day  of  his  death,  August  14,  1815. 

XII 

John  Steele  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  versatile 
men  ISTorth  Carolina  has  ever  produced.  Grave  in  tempera- 
ment and  of  a  serious  bent  of  mind,  he  always  conducted 
himself  with  gTeat  dignity ;  and  he  was  seldom  seen  to  smile. 
The  portrait  of  him,  made  by  the  famous  miniaturist,  James 
Peale,  in  1797,  portrays  a  man  both  handsome  and  bland. 
At  the  height  of  his  career  he  was  credited  with  being  the 
most  popular  man  in  ISTorth  Carolina, 

The  inscription  upon  his  tombstone  and  contemporary 
obituaries  speak  best  of  the  man  and  the  place  he  filled  in  the 
life  of  the  time.  The  marble  shaft  in  the  private  burial 
ground  at  "Lombardy,"  now  known  as  "Steeleworth,"  bears 
the  following  inscription : 

In  the  Memory  of 

GENERAL  JOHN  STEELE 

Died,  Aug.  14,  1815 

Age   50 

Consecrated  by  Conjugal 

and 

Filial  Affection 

An  Enlightened  Statesman 

A  Vigilant  Patriot 

An  Accomplished  Gentleman. 

The  Archives  of  his  Country  testify  the  services  of  Ms 

short   but   useful   life.      Long   will   that   country 

deplore  his  loss,  but  vphen  vrill  this  sequestered 

spot  cease  to  witness  the  sacred  sorrow 

of  his  Family  and  Friends. 


JOHN    STEELE 


177 


The  following  obituary  (Tile  Star  of  Raleigh,  August  25, 
1815)  requires  no  commentary: 

"A  great  man  lias  fallen  in  Israel." 


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176  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

divorced  from  public  activity  during  the  last  decade  of  his 
life.  There  were  the  onerous  and  exacting  duties  of  bound- 
ary commissioner,  which  involved  considerable  correspond- 
ence and  the  writing  of  voluminous  reports.  Moreover, 
General  Steele  was  frequently  called  upon  to  represent  the 
Salisbury  District  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  served  in 
the  Legislatures  of  1806,  1811,  1812,  and  1813,  sometimes 
as  Speaker  of  the  House;  and  he  was  elected  for  another 
term  on  the  day  of  his  death,  August  14,  1815. 

XII 

John  Steele  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  versatile 
men  ISTorth  Carolina  has  ever  produced.  Grave  in  tempera- 
ment and  of  a  serious  bent  of  mind,  he  always  conducted 
himself  with  great  dignity ;  and  he  was  seldom  seen  to  smile. 
The  portrait  of  him,  made  by  the  famous  miniaturist,  James 
Peale,  in  1797,  portrays  a  man  both  handsome  and  bland. 
At  the  height  of  his  career  he  was  credited  with  being  the 
most  popular  man  in  North  Carolina. 

The  inscription  upon  his  tombstone  and  contemporary 
obituaries  speak  best  of  the  man  and  the  place  he  filled  in  the 
life  of  the  time.  The  marble  shaft  in  the  private  burial 
ground  at  "Lo'mbardy,"  now  known  as  "Steeleworth,"  bears 
the  following  inscription : 

In  the  Memory  of 

GENERAL  JOHN  STEELE 

Died,  Aug.  14,  1815 

Age   50 

Consecrated  by  Conjugal 

and 

Filial  AfEection 

An  Enlightened  Statesman 

A  Vigilant  Patriot 

An  Accomplished  Gentleman. 

The  Archives  of  his  Country  testify  the  services  of  his 

short   but   useful   life.      Long   will   that   country 

deplore  his  loss,  but  when  will  this  sequestered 

spot  cease  to  witness  the  sacred  sorrow 

of  his  Family  and  Friends. 


The  North  CaroUna  Booklet 


Great  Events  in  North  Carolina  History 


Volume  XIX  of  The  Booklet  will  be  issued  quarterly  by  the 
North  Carolina  Society,  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  beginning  July, 
1919.  The  Booklet  will  be  published  in  July,  October,  January,  and 
April.     Price  $1.00  per  year,  .35  cents  for  single  copy. 

Editok  : 
Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton. 

Biographical  Editor  : 
Mrs.  E.  E,  Moffitt. 

VOLUME  XIX. 
Social  Life  in  the  Sixties. 
William  Boylan,  Editor  of  The  Minerva. 
History  of  Transportation  in  North  Carolma. 
Services  of  the  North  Carolina  Women  in  the  World  War. 
Literature    and    Libraries    in    the    Nineteenth    Century    in    North 
Carolina. 

Confederate  Currency — William  West  Bradbeer. 

How  Patriotic  Societies  Can  Help  to  Preserve  the  Records  of  the 
World  War. 

History  of  Some  Famous  Carolina  Summer  Resorts. 

History  of  Agriculture  in  North  Carolina — Major  W.  A.  Graham. 

The  Old  Borough  Town  of  Salisbury — Dr.  Archibald  Henderson. 

Mr.  Frank  Nash. 

Brief  Historical  Notes  will  appear  from  time  to  time  in  The 
Booklet,  information  that  is  worthy  of  preservation,  but  which  if  not 
preserved  in  a  permanent  form  will  be  lost. 

Historical  Book  Reviews  will  be  contributed.  These  will  be  re- 
views of  the  latest  historical  works  written  i)y  North  Carolinians. 

The  Genealogical  Department  will  be  continued  with  a  page  devoted 
to  Genealogical  Queries  and  Answers  as  an  aid  to  genealogical  re- 
search in  the  State. 

The  North  Carolina  Society  Colonial  Dames  of  America  will  fur- 
nish copies  of  unpublished  records  for  publication  in  The  Booklet. 

Biographical  Sketches  will  be  continued  under  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffit. 

Old  Letters,  heretofore  unpublished,  bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of 
the  different  periods  of  North  Carolina  History,  will  appear  here- 
after in  The  Booklet. 

This  list  of  subjects  may  be  changed,  as  circumstances  sometimes 
prevent  the  writers  from  keeping  their  engagements. 

The  histories  of  the  separate  counties  will  in  the  future  be  a 
special  feature  of  The  Booklet.  When  necessary,  an  entire  issue 
will  be  devoted  to  a  paper  on  one  county. 

Parties  who  wish  to  renew  their  subscriptions  to  The  Booklet 
for  Vol.  XIX  are  requested  to  give  notiee  at  once. 

Many  numbers  of  Volumes  I  to  XVIII  for  sale. 

For  particulars  address 

Miss  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton, 

Editor  TSlortli  Carolina  Booklet, 
"Midway  Plantation,"  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


176 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


divorced  from  public  activity  during  the  last  decade  of  his 
life.  There  were  the  ouerous  and  exacting  duties  of  bound- 
ary commissioner,  which  involved  considerable  correspond- 


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of  his  Family  and  Friends. 


JOHN   STEELE  177 

The  following  obituary  (TAie  8tar  of  Raleigh,  August  25, 
1815)  requires  no  commentary: 

"A  great  man  has  fallen  in  Israel." 
Died,  a  few  days  ago,  at  his  seat  near  Salisbury,  General  John 
Steele,  long  known  as  a  distinguished  statesman. — General  Steele 
was  a  member  of  Congress  soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, contributed  his  full  share  to  the  establishment  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  to  give  effect  to  those  measures  and  policies  which  were 
pursued  under  the  first  administrations.  He  was  afterwards  for 
several  years  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  and 
has  since  occasionally  been  a  Member  of  the  Legislature  of  his  native 
State.  .  .  .  The  knowledge  of  General  Steele  was  various  and 
profound,  and  his  reasoning  powers  great.  Among  the  political  sages 
of  our  country  he  has  left  a     chasm  that  will  not  easily  be  filled. 


178  THE  NORTH  CAEOUNA  BOOKLET 

Life  and  Services  of  Colonel  Jonas  Johnston'' 


By  Kemp  Davis  Battle 


Wlien  I  received  Miss  Hintoii's  cordial  invitation  to  take 
part  in  these  interesting  proceedings,  tliere  were  two  things 
in  her  letter  which  I  particularly  noted:  first,  that  my 
address  was  to  be  read ;  second,  that  it  was  to  be,  to  use  her 
tactful  language,  "not  of  great  length."  I  shall  give  myself 
the  benefit  of  the  first  provision  and  I  shall  try  to  give  you 
the  benefit  of  the  second. 

At  the  outset,  I  desire  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  to 
Miss  Hinton  for  furnishing  me  the  material  for  this  modest 
sketch.  She  has  manifasted  the  enthusiastic  and  patient 
diligence  of  the  historian  in  assembling  every  available  record 
and  reference  bearing  upon  the  life  of  her  distinguished 
ancestor.  Indeed,  what  I  say  today  adds  very  little  to  a 
paper  read  by  her  before  the  ISTorth  Carolina  Society  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  Revolution. 

The  biographical  data  in  reference  to  Colonel  Johnston's 
life  is  comparatively  meager.  He  was  born  in  Southampton 
County,  Virginia,  in  1740,  the  son  of  Jacob  Johnston  and 
Mary  Waller  Johnston.  During  his  early  youth,  his  parents 
removed  to  Edgecombe  County,  which  was  thenceforth  his 
home.  In  estimating  his  talents  and  character,  it  is  impor- 
tant to  remember  that  Jonas  Johnston  was  raised  a  plain, 
simple,  hard-working  farmer,  with  no  education  save  that 
which  strong  minds  are  able  to  extract  from  the  stream  of 
practical  experience.  In  1768,  at  the  home  of  Aquilla  Suggs, 
near  Tarboro,  he  was  married  to  Esther  Maun  or  Maund, 
of  J^orfolk  iCounty,  Virginia,  a  woman  who,  in  good  sense,  in 
resourcefulness,  and  in  strength  of  character,  seems  to  have 
been  quite  his  equal.     Both  parties  had  in  ample  measure 

*  Address  by  Kemp  Davis  Battle,  a  descendant  of  Major  Amos  Johnston, 
delivered  at  the  presentation  of  a  tablet  to  Colonel  Jonas  Johnston  by  The 
North  Carolina  Historical  Commission  and  the  Board  of  County  Commis- 
sioners of  Edgecombe,  to  the  County  of  Edgecombe.  It  was  accepted  by  the 
Chairman,  William  G.  Clark.     Published  by  request. 


COLONEL  JONAS  JOHNSTON  179 

that  self-reliance,  that  ability  to  rise  to  any  emergency,  that 
capacity  to  maintain  one's  footing  no  matter  how  fast  may 
flow  the  stream  of  difficulty  or  adversity,  in  a  word,  that 
"spiritual  toughness"  which  makes  the  lives  of  our  pioneering 
forefathers  so  entrancingly  picturesque. 

Emergencies  seem  always  to  produce  or  to  discover  men 
of  unusual  strength  to  deal  with  them,  and  so  it  was  with 
Jonas  Johnston.  To  us  who  live  in  an  age  when  electric 
communication  has  girdled  the  globe;  when  our  morning 
newspaper  chronicles  every  sig-nificant  happening  from  one 
end  of  the  earth  to  the  other;  when  the  jungles  of  Africa, 
the  steppes  of  Russia,  the  plains  of  Tibet  and  the  pampas  of 
Argentine  alike  seem  almost  around  the  corner;  when  man 
travels  with  equal  ease  under  the  sea,  through  the  air,  and 
upon  the  crust  of  the  earth ;  when  the  telephone  and  the  tele- 
graph are  beginning  to  seem  archaic,  as  wizard  inventors 
weave  us  fantastic  tales  of  individual  automatic  wireless 
telephones  carried  like  a  bunch  of  keys  in  the  pocket;  when 
the  automobile,  having  vanquished  the  horse,  begins  to  trem- 
ble at  the  advent  of  the  aeroplane;  to  us,  I  say,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  comprehend  the  material  and  physical  diffi- 
culties with  which  our  forefathers  contended  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.  Communication  was  by  coach,  by  carriage, 
by  wagon,  by  horseback  or  by  foot.  The  roads,  measured  by 
present  standards,  were  impassable.  Public  schools  were 
unknown,  education  was  the  boon  of  the  favored  few.  When 
we  bear  these  conditions  in  mind,  it  should  excite  equally  our 
humility  and  our  amazement  to  contemplate  the  intelligence, 
the  comprehension,  the  wisdom,  the  foresight  and  the  ideal- 
ism of  that  noble  band  of  patriots  who  builded  our  Republic. 
In  that  great  task,  Jonas  Johnston,  unlettered  plowboy,  but 
endowed  by  nature  with  strength  of  character  and  of  mind 
buttressed  with  courage  and  determination,  played  a  man's 
full  part. 

Espousing  from  the  beginning  the  cause  of  liberty,  John- 
ston, who  was  then  in  his  thirties,  early  became  a  leader.     He 


180  THE    JSrOETH    CAROLINA    BOOKLET 

was  conspicuous  at  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  where 
he  manifested  the  coolness  and  intrepidity  under  danger  which 
characterized  his  brief  but  gallant  military  career.  In  those 
early  days,  the  struggle  which  finally  terminated  in  our  inde- 
pendence, bore  largely  the  earmarks  of  a  civil  dispute.  The 
Tories  were  numerous,  influential,  and  bold.  A  preliminary 
period  of  strife  was  necessary  before  the  colonies  were  able 
to  organize  a  comparatively  united  front  against  the  English 
arms.  Johnston  did  yeoman's  service  in  this  work.  On  one 
occasion  he  organized  at  Tarboro  a  band  of  volunteers  which 
he  led  dovsm  to  the  Cape  Fear  River  where  a  Tory  uprising 
was  causing  grave  anxiety.  The  expedition  was  entirely 
successful  and  it  was  probably  in  recognition  of  his  services 
that  he  was  given  a  commission  as  First  Major  by  the  Provin- 
cial CongTess  at  Halifax.  This  was  on  April  22,  17Y6. 
From  that  time  on  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  the  fight 
for  freedom.  It  is  true  that  he  missed  a  good  deal  of  time 
from  the  military  forces  while  attending  various  sessions  of 
the  Provincial  Congress,  of  which  more  hereafter.  His  neces- 
sary absence  from  his  regiment  and  his  early  death  doubtless 
prevented  him  from  attaining  the  reputation  as  a  military 
leader  which  would  otherwise  have  been  his.  I^Tevertheless, 
his  record  in  that  respect  is  one  of  which  his  descendants  may 
well  be  proud. 

But  before  actual  fighting  could  begin,  there  was  much 
preliminary  work  to  be  done.  Johnston  was  not  found  want- 
ing. When  the  Council  of  State  met  at  'N&w  Bern,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1Y77,  the  Governor  laid  before  the  board  the  resolve 
of  Congress  to  divide  the  States  into  districts  with  one  person 
in  each  district  to  recruit  men  to  fill  the  regiments  raised  in 
such  State.  For  Edgecombe,  Jonas  Johnston  was  appointed. 
(State  Records  22,  page  926.)  The  Provincial  Congress  at 
Halifax,  April  19,  17Y6,  appointed  Henry  Horn  and  Jonas 
Johnston  "to  receive,  procure,  and  purchase  firearms  for  the 
use  of  the  troops."  (State  Records  10,  page  525.)  When 
the  Council  of  State  met  at  Kinston,  December,  1778,  Col. 
Jonas  Johnston  laid  before  the  board  an  account  for  sundries 


COLONEL  JONAS  JOHNSTON  181 

furnished  the  militia  marching  from  Edgecombe.  The  Gov- 
ernor advised  the  board  to  grant  a  warrant  on  Treasury  in 
favor  of  Col.  Johnston  for  400  pounds.  (State  Records  22, 
page  942.)  A  letter  written  by  Major  Johnston  (now  a 
Lieutenant-Colonel)  to  Governor  Caswell,  under  date  of 
iJ^ovember  24,  1778,  and  found  in  State  Records  13,  page 
298,  is  so  illuminating  as  to  the  difficulties  which  our  hero 
was  encountering  and  so  eloquent  of  his  resourcefulness  and 
determination,  that  I  venture  to  quote  it  in  full : 

May  it  please  your  Excellency :  I  have  herewith  sent  you  the 
Commissions  of  Capt.  Davis  and  Ensign  Gay,  resigned,  the  former 
through  infirmity,  the  latter  through  cowardice  and  as  no  Ensign 
offers  to  supply  the  place  of  Gay  our  detachment  is  without  any 
Captain.  Lee  who  now  heads  the  Company,  is  a  volunteer,  who 
accepted  the  office  in  the  room  of  Davis  resigned,  and  as  I  have  no 
blank  commissions  he  is  without.  One  Absolum  Barnes,  our  Lieu- 
tenant, has  a  commission.  I  am  sorry  to  inform  your  Excellency 
of  so  many  resignations  at  present,  but  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  help 
it.  I  have  furnished  Capt.  Lee  with  934  lbs.  of  beef,  2  barrels  of 
meal,  and  8  pots  and  8  axes,  and  am  happy  to  inform  your  Excel- 
lency that  the  men  are  mostly  in  good  health,  and  now  on  duty ;  are 
in  high  spirits  and  resolved  to  encounter  every  difficulty.  I  can  only 
add,  I  am  sorry  that  more  of  our  old  Captains  would  not  go  with 
them,  as  I  think  so  large  a  detachment  deserves  a  good  Captain 
and  so  no  more  at  present  but  Sir  I  still  remain. 

Tour  Excellency's  mo.  huml.  servt., 

Jonas  Johnston. 

N.  B. — The  other  detachment  is  now  drafting,  and  will  march 
as  soon  as  possible.    J.  J. 

One  can  form  from  the  foregoing  disconnected  incidents 
some  slight  estimate  of  the  patriotic  and  valuable  work  per- 
formed by  Colonel  Johnston  in  the  immensely  important  task 
of  raising  and  equipping  and  drilling  the  troops  which  were 
to  test  their  mettle  with  the  British.  Indeed,  a  little  reflec- 
tion leads  to  the  conclusion  that  this  harassing  and  sometimes 
disheartening  work  was  more  far-reaching  in  its  results  than 
gallantry  on  the  field  of  battle.  At  length,  however,  Colonel 
Johnston  took  command  of  his  regiment,  and  with  Colonel 
Caswell  marched  to  South  Carolina  where  help  was  greatly 
needed.     The  best  record  of  his  activities  there  is  contained 


182  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

in  a  series  of  letters  written  by  him  to  the  Grovernors  of  North 
and  South  Carolina.  These  letters  bear  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  the  man's  statesmanlike  judgment  and  indomitable 
will-power.  His  career  ended  with  the  Battle  of  Stono  Ferry, 
fought  June  20,  1779.  In  this  engagement  he  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  personal  courage  and  the  skill  with 
which  he  handled  his  men.  Tradition  has  it  that  the  title 
of  General  was  conferred  on  him  by  the  War  Department  for 
bravery  in  the  Battle  of  Stono  Ferry,  but  this  cannot  be  veri- 
fied. The  wound  which  he  received  that  day  deprived  the 
country  of  a  leader  of  very  great  promise.  Suffering  both 
from  wounds  and  sickness,  he  was  granted  a  furlough  and 
started  on  his  journey  home.  His  wife  set  out  from  Edge- 
combe to  meet  him,  traveling  in  a  gig,  and  attended  only  by 
a  colored  servant.  He  reached  the  home  of  a  Mr.  Amis  on 
Drowning  Creek,  S.  C,  where  on  July  29,  1779,  he  died. 
The  sword  which  he  wore  at  Stono  Ferry  and  which  had 
been  captured  from  the  Hessians,  was  inherited  by  Governor 
Elias  Carr  and  is  now  in  the  Arts  and  Industry  Building, 
Smithsonian  Institution,  in  Washington. 

At  the  present  time,  Colonel  Johnston  is  usually  thought  of 
as  a  soldier,  but  it  was  probably  in  civil  life  that  he  achieved 
greater  eminence  and  made  a  greater  contribution  to  his  coun- 
try. And  here  I  must  again  call  to  your  attention  the  fact 
that  he  never  received  a  formal  education  and  that  his  success 
was  purely  the  result  of  his  natural  strength  of  mind  and 
integrity  of  character.  I  quote  from  an  article  in  the  North 
Carolina  University  Magazine  of  April,  1861,  written  by 
Jeremiah  Battle,  M.D. :  "Although  he  was  almost  destitute 
of  education,  he  was  a  considerable  orator ;  and  whenever  he 
rose  to  speak  in  those  public  assemblies  the  greatest  attention 
was  paid  to  his  opinions,  as  they  ever  carried  the  strongest 
marks  of  good  sense.  His  language  was  bold  and  nervous ; 
well  adapted  to  incite  the  people  to  patriotic  exertion.  He 
was  modest,  yet  competent,  prompt  and  decisive."  It  is  to 
be  understood  that  the  word  "education"  is  used  in  the  sense 


COLONEL    JONAS    JOHNSTON  183 

of  "sch-ooling."  Using  the  word  in  its  widest  sense,  he  did 
have  an  education.  Colonel  Johnston  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  CongTess  from  1Y76  to  1779,  inclusive,  and  took 
a  promient  part  in  its  affairs.  It  may  be  interesting  to  name 
some  of  the  committees  on  which  he  served,  as  follows :  Com- 
mittee on  Enquiry;  on  Consideration  of  Messages  from  the 
President  of  the  Congress;  Claims  and  Accounts;  to  Estab- 
lish Courts  of  Justice  of  the  Peace;  on  the  Disposition  of 
the  Public  Salt;  on  the  Erection  of  a  State  House,  Land 
Office,  and  Treasurer's  Office;  to  Examine  the  Accounts  of 
the  Paymaster-General;  to  Devise  Means  for  Paying  for  a 
Quantity  of  Cannon  brought  in  by  the  Ship  Holy  Jesus ;  and 
the  Committee  to  Raise  Men  to  March  to  the  Southward." 
He  must  have  taken  the  last  appointment  very  much  to  heart, 
as  he  ended  by  marching  southward  himself — to  his  death. 

Among  the  bills  which  he  introduced  were  the  following: 
"A  bill  to  regulate  the  fees  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Clerks 
of  the  Superior  Court;"  "A  bill  to  construct  a  bridge  over 
Contentnea  Creek;"  "A  bill  to  dock  the  entails  of  land;" 
and  "A  bill  for  emitting  850,000  pounds  in  bills  of  credit  for 
discharging  debts  incurred  by  the  State  in  raising  men  to 
reinforce  the  battalions  belonging  to  this  State  in  the  Conti- 
nental Army;  and  calling  in  all  former  emissions  and  for 
other  purposes."  To  me  there  is  something  very  impressive 
in  the  picture  of  this  unlettered  Edgecombe  farmer  intro- 
ducing the  financial  measures  for  meeting  the  State's  needs 
in  those  anxious  and  trying  times.  We  find  him  voting  in 
the  affirmative  on  the  bill  to  confiscate  the  property  of  all 
those  inimical  to  the  United  States.  He  voted  "yea"  on  ''A 
bill  for  levying  a  tax  for  the  year  1779,  that  the  bill  be 
amended  by  levying  a  tax  of  three  pence  on  each  pound  of 
taxable  property  instead  of  two  pence."  It  sometimes  takes 
as  high  a  quality  of  courage  to  face  popular  disfavor  by  voting 
to  increase  taxes  as  it  does  to  face  a  cannon  volley.  These 
fragmentary  references  to  Colonel  Johnston's  legislative  ca- 
reer do  not  purport  to  do  more  than  cast  a  flickering  spot- 


184  THE  NOKTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

light  on  his  manifold  activities.  I  think  they  do^  however, 
suffice  to  present  to  us  a  man  of  progressive  ideals,  respected 
among  his  fellows  for  his  practical  knowledge  and  experience, 
successfully  active  in  a  variety  of  fields,  a  substantial,  force- 
ful, forward  looking  patriot. 

As  we  are  largely  indebted  for  this  occasion  to  Colonel 
Johnston's  descendants,  it  seems  permissible  to  give  some 
account  of  his  family  and  connections.  His  wife,  Esther 
Maun,  must  have  been  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  character. 
When  the  war  came.  Colonel  Johnston  had  just  started  to 
erect  a  residence.  The  frame  dwelling  had  been  completed 
on  the  outside,  and  the  laths  within  were  ready  for  the  plas- 
tering. Work  was  necessarily  suspended  and  was  not  re- 
sumed during  the  owner's  lifetime.  Colonel  Johnston  was 
less  than  40  years  of  age  at  his  death  and  had  given  too  much 
of  his  time  and  attention  to  public  matters  to  have  accumu- 
lated any  considerable  property.  Mrs.  Johnston  was  left 
with  a  small  farm  and  five  small  children.  Devoting  all  her 
energy  and  resources  to  the  education  of  her  children,  she 
abandoned  all  plans  for  completing  her  home  and  did  not 
resume  the  work  until  each  child  had  received  what  was  for 
that  age  a  good  education.  By  industry  and  economy  she 
met  with  entire  success  the  responsibilities  which  her  hus- 
band's death  imposed  upon  her  and  won  the  respect  and  ad- 
miration of  all  her  neighbors.  For  the  last  15  years  of  her 
life  she  was  paralyzed  but  reached  the  ripe  age  of  89  years. 
She  is  buried  on  the  Johnston  plantation,  now  belonging  to 
the  Cobbs  of  Vinedale.  The  grave  is  marked  by  a  tombstone 
erected  by  Jonas  Johnston  Carr,  the  railing  by  the  Ruffins. 
I  quote  the  words  of  one  who  knew  her :  "Her  own  dissolu- 
tion she  looked  to  without  fear,  though  helpless  in  body  she 
was  strong  in  faith,  and  her  lamp  burned  clearer  as  her  sun 
of  life  shed  its  last  rays  on  the  fleeting  pleasures  of  this 
world." 

The  only  children  of  Jonas  Johnston  and  his  good  wife 
which  survived  and  left  descendants  were  four  daughters: 


COLONEL  JONAS  JOHNSTON  185 

Elizabetli,  who  married  first,  Jolm  Bell,  second  John  An- 
drews ;  Celia,  who  married  first,  Jesse  Hines,  and  second 
Elias  Carr ;  Prudence,  who  married  Peter  Hines ;  and  Mary, 
who  married  Samuel  Ruffin.  Among  their  descendants  are 
the  names  of  the  following  families:  Bell,  Hines,  Carr, 
Prince,  Blount,  Vines,  Cobb,  Rufiin,  Andrews,  Barnes,  Plorne 
and  Hinton, 

Among  those  who  have  attained  distinction  of  various  kinds 
are  the  following:  Hon.  Bichard  Hines,  CongTessman  from 
JSTorth  Carolina;  Jonas  Johnston  Carr,  of  "Bracebridge 
Hall,"  southern  planter;  Dr.  Peter  Evans  Hines,  Surgeon 
Provisional  Army  Confederate  States ;  Col.  A.  B.  Andrews, 
railroad  builder ;  Grovernor  Elias  Carr ;  Mrs.  David  Hinton,  a 
representative  of  the  best  Southern  Womanhood ;  Miss  Mary 
Hilliard  Hinton,  personally  known  to  all  present;  R.  A. 
Blount,  son  of  R.  E.  Blount  of  Paris,  a  Lieutenant  of  the 
Foreign  Legion,  and  a  wearer  of  the  Croix  de  Gruerre  with 
Palms  for  gallantry  at  Verdun ;  and  William  Kearny  Carr  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  who  died  some  two  or  three  years  ago. 
W.  K.  Carr  was  a  scientist  and  student  of  the  very  highest 
rank.  In  my  opinion  he  possessed  probably  the  most  com- 
prehensive and  powerful  intellect  which  Edgecombe  County 
has  ever  produced. 

And  so,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  hold  it  altogether  fitting 
that  we  should  meet  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  this  sturdy 
patriot.  By  his  heavy  labors  in  raising  and  equipping  troops 
to  fight  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  by  his  wise  statesmanship 
in  our  legislative  assemblies,  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  in 
defense  of  our  common  country,  and  by  his  useful  and  dis- 
tinguished posterity,  he  has  put  the  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina 
as  well  as  the  county  of  Edgecombe  very  much  in  his  debt. 
It  is  good  that  this  tablet  will  adorn  our  courthouse  as  his 
memory  adorns  our  history. 

Mr.  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners,  it 
is  my  high  pleasure  and  distinguished  privilege,  on  behalf  of 
the  State  Historical  Commission,  the  County  Commissioners, 


186  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

and  Colonel  Johnston's  descendants  to  present  tlirougli  you 
to  the  county  of  Edgecombe  this  memorial  to  her  worthy  son. 
May  future  generations  of  her  citizens  by  it  be  inspired  to 
emulate  his  example  and  to  cherish  his  memory. 

ITOTES  BY  THE  EDITOE 

Family  tradition  claims  that  Colonel  Johnston's  father 
came  to  America  from  the  north  of  England.  The  family 
is  not  of  Scottish  origin. 

Governor  Henry  Toole  Clark  was  well  versed  in  the  geneal- 
ogy of  the  prominent  families  of  his  county  (Edgecombe). 
It  was  he  who  compiled  and  arranged  the  "Johnston  Fam.ily 
Tree/'  some  copies  of  which  are  today  carefully  preserved 
by  the  descendants  of  the  hero  of  Stono  Ferry. 

Colonel  Jonas  Johnston  was  an  Episcopalian.  His  Prayer 
Book  is  in  the  possession  of  descendants  in  I^orth  Carolina. 

At  the  General  Assembly  held  at  I^ew  Bern  ISTovember, 
1777,  "Mr.  Jonas  Johnston  presented  a  petition  fro-m  a 
number  of  inhabitants  of  Edgecombe  County,  praying  to 
have  the  same  divided." 

In  1776  the  Convention  established  "An  ordinance  for 
appointing  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Sheriffs  and  Constables  for 
the  several  counties  in  this  State,  for  erecting  County  Courts 
for  the  purposes  of  holding  sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  putting 
into  execution  the  laws  relative  to  Orphans,  Guardians,  and 
highways  until  provisions  shall  be  made  by  the  General  As- 
sembly for  the  same."  Jonas  Johnston  was  appointed  a 
"Justice  for  keeping  the  Peace  in  Edgecombe.  The  other 
J.  P.'s  appointed  for  Edgecombe  at  the  same  time  were: 
Aquila  Sugg,  Edward  Moore,  Samuel  Puffin,  Duncan  Lamon, 
Elisha  Battle,  William  Haywood,  Sherwood  Haywood,  Henry 
El-win,  Joseph  Williamson,  John  Thomas,  Matthew  Drake, 
IN'oah  Sugg,  Robert  Bignall,  ]S[athan  Bodie,  Exum  Lewis, 
William  Hall,  Isaac  Sessums,  Jacob  Dickinson,  Arthur  Ar- 
rington,  and  Joseph  Pender,  Esquires." 


COLONEL,  JONAS  JOHNSTON  187 

In  the  spring  of  1Y78  Colonel  Johnston  was  appointed 
entry  taker  for  Edgecombe,  which  office  he  accepted.  This 
prevented  his  holding  his  seat  in  the  General  Assembly,  ac- 
cording to  the  twenty-fifth  section  of  the  Constitution,  which 
did  not  allow  "a  receiver  of  public  monies"  "a  seat  in  the 
General  Assembly."  On  April  28,  1778,  a  motion  was  car- 
ried to  fill  the  seat  "vacated  by  his  acceptance  of  the  entry 
taker^s  office."  However,  on  August  3,  1778,  he  appeared 
as  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  so  he  must  have  re- 
signed the  county  office. 

"At  a  Council  held  at  Kinston,  the  9th  September,  1779, 
"Resolved,  The  Governor  be  advised  to  appoint  Henry 
Hart,  Esq.,  Colonel  of  the  Company  of  Edgecombe,  in  the 
room  of  Colonel  Johnston,  deceased ;  Isaac  Sessums,  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel; Henry  Home,  First  Major,  and  Amos  Johnston, 
Second  Major." 


188  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 


A  Composition  by  John  Graham 

Afterwards  Dr.  John  Graham,  as  a  Student  at  Queen's 
Museum,  Charlotte,  N.  C,  July  30,  1776 


A  DECLAMATIOIsr 

My  worthy  Auditors:  Sensible  of  my  inability  to  ap- 
pear as  a  pnblick  speaker  before  you  here  today  with  appro- 
bation, I  would  request  this  of  you  before  whom  I  have  the 
honour  of  declaiming  from  this  stage,  that  if  the  subject 
which  I  shall  treat  of,  be  not  discussed  to  as  great  perfection 
as  it  might  be  (which  I  confess  is  the  case)  you  will  judge 
of  my  performance  with  mildness  and  candor. 

I  have  often  wondered  that  learning  is  not  thought  a  proper 
ingredient  in  the  education  of  women.  For  seeing  they  have 
the  same  improveable  and  docile  minds  as  the  male  part  of 
the  species,  why  should  they  not  be  cultivated  by  the  same 
method  ?  Why  should  reason  be  left  to  itself  in  one  of  the 
sexes  and  be  cultivated  with  so  much  care  and  diligence  in 
the  other  ?  Why  should  man's  reasonable  companion  be  left 
to  wander  in  the  dark  Vale  of  Ignorance  whilst  he  is  per- 
mitted to  glide  along  in  the  flowery  Paths  of  Learning  ? 

There  are  several  reasons  why  learning  seems  equally 
adapted  to  the  female  world  as  to  the  male.  As  in  the  first 
place,  because  they  have  more  spare  time  on  their  hands  and 
lead  a  more  sedentary  life.  Their  employments  are  for  the 
most  part  of  a  domestic  nature  and  not  like  those  of  the  other 
sex,  which  are  often  inconsistent  with  study  and  contempla- 
tion, as  being  harrassing  and  disturbing  to  the  mind. 

A  second  reason  why  women  should  apply  themselves  to 
the  study  of  useful  knowledge  as  well  as  men  is  because  they 
have  that  natural  gift  of  speech,  that  velocity  of  the  little 


*  Dr.  Graham  was  an  older  brother  of  Gen.  Joseph  Graham.  Upon  his  grad- 
uation in  1778  he  was  awarded  a  diploma,  which  is  the  only  diploma  granted  by- 
Queen's  Museum  now  in  existence. 


A    COMPOSITIOIN'    BY    JOHN    GRAHAM  189 

machine  called  the  tongue,  in  much  greater  perfection.  And 
seeing  they  have  so  excellent  a  talent,  such  a  Copia  Verborum, 
or  plenty  of  words,  it  is  a  pity  they  should  not  put  it  to  some 
commendable  use. 

If  the  female  tongTie  will  be  in  motion,  why  should  it  not 
be  set  to  go  right  ?  Could  they  discourse  on  philosophical 
subjects,  or  on  the  revolutions  of  antiquity,  it  might  possibly 
divert  them  from  publishing  the  faults,  disclosing  the  secrets, 
and  blemishing  the  character  of  their  neighbors:  could  they 
talk  of  the  different  aspects  and  conjunctions  of  the  planets, 
they  need  not  be  at  the  pains  to  comment  upon  ogiings  and 
clandestine  marriages.  In  short,  were  they  furnished  with 
matters  of  fact  out  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  it  would  now  and 
then  be  of  great  ease  to  their  invention. 

There  is  another  reason  why  those  especially  who  are 
women  of  quality  should  apply  themselves  to  letters,  namely, 
because  their  husbands  are  sometimes  strangers  to  them ;  and 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  matter  truly  lamentable  that  there 
should  be  no  knowledge  in  a  family  either  by  the  father  or 
mother. 

To  what  is  it  owing,  unless  to  the  illiterateness  or  neglect 
of  parents,  that  we  see  so  many  impudent,  ill-bred  children, 
who  not  being  restrained  in  their  childhood  from,  but  rather 
indulged  in,  their  youthful  fancies ;  arriving  at  manhood  and 
their  licentiousness  increasing  proportionably,  they  become 
rude  and  insolent  to  their  superiors,  subject  neither  to  minis- 
ters or  magistrates,  not  even  to  parents  themselves,  but,  as 
the  celebrated  Mr.  Young  says : 

"Ripe  from  the  tutor,  proud  of  liberty, 
He  leaps  enclosure,  bounds  into  the  world ; 
The  world  is  taken,  after  ten  years  toil, 
Like  ancient  Troy ;  and  all  its  joys  his  own. 

"Alas,  the  world's  a  tutor  more  severe, 
Its  lessons  hard,  and  ill  deserved  his  pains ; 
Unteaching  all  his  virtues  Nature  taught, 
Or  Books  (fair  Nature's  advocates)  inspired." 


190  THE  NORTH  CAEOLINA  BOOKLET 

From  whence  proceeds  this  misfoTtiuie,  that  so  many 
flourishing  branches,  who  might  have  become  useful  members 
of  society,  an  honor  to  their  parents,  and  an  ornament  to  their 
country,  should  shoot  up  as  it  were  into  so  many  cumbersome 
trees,  spending  their  life  in  inactivity  and  sloth,  lying  by 
among  the  number  and  refuse  of  mankind,  unless  from  a  bad 
or  rather  no  education  ? 

Another  reason  why  women  ought  to  be  educated  p'roceeds 
from  the  many  advantages  which  are  consequences  therefrom ; 
for  the  tutelage  of  children  being  almost  solely  in  the  hands 
of  mothers,  they  have  the  most  excellent  opportunity  of  in- 
fusing the  noblest  principles  into  them,  of  rooting  out  the 
very  seeds  of  vice,  and  by  turning  off  the  stream  at  the  foun- 
tain into  proper  channels,  before  that  the  water  may  have 
worn  deep  the  natural  channel  with  its  swift  running  current ; 
they  might  by  this  means  convey  the  stream  between  rocks 
and  precipices  into  foreign  lands,  and  distant  nations  receive 
the  benefit  of  the  increasing  rivulet,  and  reap  the  advantages 
of  it  a  thousand  years  hence. 

If  we  look  into  the  histories  of  famous  women,  we  find 
many  eminent  philosophers  of  this  sex;  nay,  we  find  that 
several  females  have  distinguished  themselves  in  those 
branches  of  philosophy  which  seem  almost  repugnant  to 
their  natures. 

There  have  been  famous  Pythagoreans,  notwithstanding 
most  of  that  philosophy  consisted  in  keeping  a  secret,  and 
that  the  disciple  was  to  hold  her  tongue  five  years  together. 
I  need  not  mention  Portia,  who  was  a  stoic  in  petticoats :  now 
Hipparthia,  the  famous  she-cynick. 

Learning  and  knowledge  are  perfections  in  us,  not  as  we 
are  men,  but  as  we  are  reasonable  creatures,  in  which  order 
of  beings  the  female  world  is  upon  the  same  level  with  the 
male.  We  ought  to  consider  in  this  particular,  not  what  is 
the  sex,  but  what  is  the  species  to  which  they  belong.  At 
least,  I  believe  every  one  will  allow  lae,  that  a  female  phi- 
losopher is  not  so  absurd  a  character  and  so  opposite  to  the 


A   COMPOSITION    BY    JOHN    GRAHAM  191 

sex,  as  a  female  gamester;  and  that  it  is  more  irratiorial  for 
a  woman  to  pass  away  her  time  at  cards  or  dice,  I  might 
likewise  have  said  in  immoderate  dressing,  than  in  laying 
up  stores  of  useful  learning.  This  therefore  is  another  rea- 
son why  I  would  recommend  the  study  of  knowledge  to  the 
female  world,  that  they  may  not  be  at  a  loss  how  to  employ 
those  vacant  hours  that  lie  heavy  on  their  hands. 

I  might  also  add  this  motive  to  my  fair  auditors,  that  sev- 
eral of  their  sex^  who  have  improved  their  minds  by  books 
and  literature,  have  raised  themselves  to  the  highest  posts 
of  honor  and  fortune,  but  I  shall  conclude  this  head  with  the 
history  of  Athenais,  which  is  a  very  signal  example  to  my 
present  purpose. 

The  Emporor  Theodosius  being  about  the  age  of  one  and 
twenty  and  designing  to  take  a  wife,  desired  his  sister,  Pul- 
cheria,  and  his  friend,  Paulinus,  to  search  his  whole  empire 
for  a  woman  of  the  most  exquisite  beauty  and  highest  accom- 
plishments. In  the  midst  of  this  search,  Athenais,  a  Grecian 
virgin,  accidentally  offered  herself. 

Her  father,  who  was  an  eminent  philosopher  at  Athens, 
and  had  bred  her  up  in  all  the  learning  of  that  renowned 
place,  at  his  death  left  her  a  very  small  portion,  in  which 
also  she  suifered  great  hardships  from  the  injustice  of  her 
two  brothers. 

This  forced  her  upon  a  journey  to  Constantinople,  where 
she  had  a  relation  who  represented  her  case  to  Pulcheria  in 
order  to  obtain  some  redress  from  the  Emperor.  By  this 
means  that  religious  princess  became  acquainted  with  Athen- 
ais, whom  she  found  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  her  age 
and  educated  under  a  long  course  of  philosophy  in  the  strictest 
virtue  and  most  innocence.  Pulcheria  was  charmed  with  her 
conversation  and  immediately  reported  to  the  Emperor,  her 
brother,  Theodosius.  The  character  she  gave  made  such  an 
impression  on  him  that  he  desired  his  sister  to  bring  her  away 
immediately  to  the  lodging  of  his  friend,  Paulinus,  where  he 
found  her  beauty  and  her  conversation  beyond  the  highest 


192  THE  NOETH  CAROLINA  BOOKLET 

idea  lie  liad  framed  of  thein.  His  friend,  Paulinus,  con- 
verted lier  to  Christianity  and  gave  her  the  name  of  Eudosia ; 
after  which  the  Emperor  publickly  espoused  her,  and  enjoyed 
all  the  happiness  in  his  marriage  which  he  had  promised  him- 
self from  such  a  virtuous  and  learned  bride.  She  not  only 
forgave  the  injuries  which  her  two  brothers  had  done  her, 
but  raised  them  to  great  honours;  and  by  several  works  of 
learning,  as  well  as  by  an  exemplary  life,  made  herself  so  dear 
to  the  whole  empire  that  she  had  many  statues  erected  to  her 
memory  and  is  celebrated  of  the  church  as  the  Ornament  of 
her  Sex.  John  Graham. 

July  30,  1776. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  XVIII  193 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


VOLUME  XVIII 

PAGE 

Isaac  Shelby— Part  II 3-  56 

By  Archibald  Hendesison 

Negro  Soldiers 57-  62 

By  Chief  Justice  Walter  Olabk 

North  Carolina's  Dead 63 

Other  North  CarolLaa  Heroines 64-  75 

By  Mary  Hilliard  Hinton 

History  of  the  Superior  and  Supreme  Courts  of  North  Carolina  79-104 
By  Chief  Justice  Walter  Clark 

William  Bryan  of  Craven  County,  Brigadier-General  in  the 

American  Revolution 105-115 

By  William  Hollister 

For  Whom  Was  Edgecombe  County  Named? 116-119 

By  Gaston  Lighten  stein 

Biographical  and  Genealogical  Memoranda 120-121 

By  Mrs.  E.  E.  Moffitt 

John  Steele 123-133 

By  Archibald  Henderson 

Thomas  Benbury — a  Brigadier-General  of  the  American  Revo- 

tion 134-142 

By  Emily  Ryan  Benbury  Haywood 

The  Trial  of  Henry  Wirz 143-156 

By  Sarah  W.  Ashe 

John  Steele— Part  II 159-177 

By  Archibald  Henderson 

Life  and  Services  of  Colonel  Jonas  Johnston 178-187 

By  Kemp  Davis  Battle 

A  Composition  (1776) 188-192 

By  John  Graham 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Historical  Commission 


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W.  J.  PEELE Raleigh,  N.  O. 

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M.  C.  S,  NOBLE Chapel  Hill,  N.  O. 

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SECRETARY 
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